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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http : //books . google . com/| ► HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY FROM THE FUND SUBSCRIBED FOB THE PURCHASE OF BOOKS AND OTHER MATERIAL FOR PURPOSES OF INSTRUCTION IN GERMAN lb. JEREMIAH Y JEREMIAH A Drama in Nine Scenes By STEFAN ZWEIG Translated from the Author's revised German Text by Eden and Cedar Paul New York THOMAS SELTZER 1922 ^]fl^- ^3. 700 fiilUMII UkrARfNCNT »MID Copyrifi^ 192% by Thomas Seltzer, Inc Printed in the United States of America h. TO FRIEDERIKE MARIA von WINTERNITZ Eastei 1915— Easter 1917 k CONTENTS SCENE I. The Awakening of the Prophet II. The Warning III. Rumors IV. The Watch on the Ramparts V. The Prophet's Ordeal VI. Voices in the Night VII. The Supreme Affliction VIII. The Conversion IX. The Everlasting Road PAGE I 27 71 99 137 173 231 259 303 kv. THE AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET Ik THE PERSONS OF THE DRAMA Zedekiah, the King. Pashur, the High Priest. Nahum, the Steward. Imre, the oldest Burgher. Abimelech, the General. Hananiah, the Prophet of the People.. SWORDBEARERS, WaRRIGRS. Jeremiah. His Mother. JocHEBED, a Relative. Ahab, the Servingman. Baruch, a young Man. Zebulon, his Father. The People of Jerusalem. The Envoys of Nebuchadnezzar:. Chaldean and Egyptian Warriors. The action takes place in Jerusalem at the time of the Destruction of the City. ^^3 1 /6d.. ^1... /' yf*<^< SCENE ONE Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not Jeremiah XXXIII, 3. k SCENE ONE The fiat roof of Jeremiah's house; the white flag'- stones gleam in the dim moonlight. Below are seen the towers and battlements of sleeping Jerusalem. Nothing stirs, save that from time to time we hear the whispering of the breeze that heralds the dawn. Of a sudden, impetuous footsteps sound upon the stair. Jeremiah staggers in; his robe is torn open at the throaty he gasps like one being strangled. Jeremiah They batter In the gates ... to the walls ... to the walls! . . . Faithless watchmen . . . they are com- ing . . . they are upon us. . . . The temple is in flames. . . . Help, help! . . . The walls are breached. . . . [He has rushed forward to the edge of the roof, where he abruptly stops. His cry rends the shimmering silence. With a start, he awakens from his trance. He looks forth over the town like a drunken man; his arms, which ifi^ his terror he has raised, sink slowly to his sides; theft wearily he draws his hand across his open eyes] Illusion! Once again these terrible vis- ions. FuU, how full, is the House of Dreams! [He leans on the parapet and gazes down] Peace broods over the cityj the country is at peace; in me alone, in my breast alone, this fire rages. How quietly the town reposes in God's arms, nestling in slumberj roofed over by peace, the moonbeams falling on every house, and every house plunged in gentle sleep. But I, I 5 6 JEREMIAH alone, am consumed with fire night after night; I crash earthward with the falling towers, rush to escape, per- ish amid the flames j I, and none but I, my bowels troubled, leap heated from my bed and stagger forth into the moonlight seeking coolness! For me alone comes a vision to shatter sleep; for me alone does a fiery horror wrench the darimess from my Hds. The martyrdom of this vision; the madness of these faces which swarm in their blood-stained miiltitude and then fade in the clear moonlight! Always the same dream, the same illusion. Night after night, the same terror seizes me, the same dream, culminating in the same torment. Who has instilled this dream poison into my veins? Who hunts me thus with terror? Who covets my sleep, that he must rob me of it; who is my torturer, and for whom must I thus hold vigil? Answer! Who art thou, invisible one, aiming at me from the darimess thy winged shafts? Who art thou, terror incarnate, coming to lie with me by night, quickening me with thy spirit until my frame is twisted as with labor pains? Wherefore in this slumbering dty should the curse be laid on me alone? [He is silenf, straining his ear to the all-pervading silence, and then continues zxHth grooving excitement] Silence, nothing but silence, while within is imceasing turmoil and storm-tossed night. With scorching talons it tears at my vitals and yet cannot grasp them. I am scoiu-ged with visions, and know not who holds the scourge. My cries go forth into the void. Desist, invisible hunter, or if it must be otherwise, seize your quarry; call to me when I wake, not when I sleep; speak to me in words, not in visions. Reveal what you are hiding from me; tell me the meaning of these torments. AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 7 A Voice [Calling softly from the darkness. It seems to come from far above or far beneath^ mysterious in its remoteness^ Jeremiah! Jeremiah [Staggers as if struck by a stone] Who calls? Surely I heard my name? Was it a voice from the stars, or was it the voice of my own dream? [He listens. All is quiet again] Is it thou, invisible one, who huntest me and tormentest me? Or is it I myself j is it the fierce current of my own blood? Voice, speak once more, that I may know thee. Call to me once again. The Voice [Drawing nearer] Jeremiah Ij Jeremiah [Quailing, sinks to his knees] Here am I, Lord! Thy servant heareth. [Breathless he hearkens. Nothing stirs; he trembles with emotion] Speak, Lord, to thy servant. Thou didst call my name. Give me thy message that I may understand it. I am ready for thy word and await thy command. [He listens again xvith strained attention. Profound silence] Is it presumption that I should long for thee? I am no more than an ignorant fellow, a man of no account, a spedc of dust in the world thou hast made, but thine is all power of choice. Thou who choosest kings from among shepherds, and who often unsealest the lips of a boy so that he glows with thy speech, thy choice is 8 JEREMIAH made by other tokens. Whom thou touchest, Lord, he C is chosen J whom thou choosest, Lord, he is appointed. If it were thy call which came to me, lo I have hearkened to the call. If it be thou. Lord, who huntest me, I flee thee not. Seize thy quarry. Lord, sei5^ thy preyj or hunt me yet farther to the goal! But make thyself known, that I may not fail theej reveal the heaven of thy word, that I, thy servant, may behold thee! The Voice [Nearer and more urgent] Jeremiah! Jeremiah [Rapturously] I hear. Lord, I hear. With all my soul I listen to thy word. Unworthy vessel that I am, I wait to be filled with thy message. I vow myself to thy service. Lord, to thine alone, for my soul is athirst to serve thee. I await thy word and thy sign. The Voice of Jeremiah's Mother [Now close at hand and plainly recognizable] Jeremiah! Jeremiah [In ecstasy] Show thyself to me. Lord; my heart is racked with the imminence of thy coming. Pour forth thy waters, holy storm j plough me up, that I may bear thy seed; make my earth fruitful, inspire my lips; brand me with the mark of thy service! Set thy yoke upon me. See, my neck is bowed in readiness, for thine am I, thine for evermore. Make thyself known to me. Lord, even as I know thee; let me but Ik. AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 9 see thy glory, even as thou lookest down upon my unworthiness in the gloom j deign only to show me the way of thy will, point the way to him who is thy servant for ever! The Mother [Her search has led her up the stair; her counte- nance shows anxiety, her voice is full of tenderness] Here at last I find you, my son. Jeremiah [Springing to his feet in fear and wrath] Begone! Alas the voices are stilled; the way is lost, never shall I find it again. The Mother Woe is me, why do you stand here so thinly clad in the chill night air? G>me down, my son^ The mommg mist brings fever. Jeremiah [Wildly] Why do you follow me, why do you pester me? Unending chase. You follow me with- out pause, waking or sleeping. The Mother Jeremiah, what do you mean? I was sleeping below, and then I seemed to hear people talking on the roof. Jeremiah You heard, you too? God's holy truth! You heard him speak? Understood his call? 10 JEREMIAH The Mother Whom do you mean? You have no companion. Jeremiah [Seizing her arm] Mother, tell me I beseech you. Death or joy hangs upon yoiu- words. Did you hear a voice} did you hear it after you had awakened? The Mother I heard a voice on the roof and went to summon you. But your bed was cold and empty. Then fear came upon me, and I called your name. Jeremiah [Trembling] You called my name? The Mother Thrice did I call you. But why . . ... Jeremiah Thrice? Mother, are you certain . . . The Mother Thrice did I call you. Jeremiah [His voice breaking] Disaster and derision! Fraud AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET n everywhere, without and within. There came an earnest call, and in my terror I thought it was God. The Mother How strange you are! I meant no harm. Since there was no answer, I came to the roof to see if there was anyone here. I found no one. Jeremiah Nay, you found a madman. The torture of these visions! Sense and nonsense join in cheating me. I am befooled by my own fantasy. The Mother What are you talking about? What is troubling you? Jeremiah Nothing, Mother, nothing. Pay no heed to my words. The Mother I must heed them, Jeremiah j but they are dark to me. An evil mood has beset you, and has estranged you from me. What has happened j what is tor- menting you? Jeremiah Nothing is tormenting me, Mother. I was too hot in bed, and sought the roof for coolness. 12 JEREMIAH The Mother You are closing your heart to me, and yet I can read you. I know that night after night for months past you have been wandering about. I have often heard you groaning in your sleep. When you have left your bed to walk restlessly in the darkness, my heart has followed your every step. Tell me your troubles. Shut not yourself away from me. Jeremiah Do not concern yoxu^lf about it, Mother. The Mother How can I help but concern myself about it? Are you not the day of my days and the prayer of my nights? You have outgrown the arms which used to carry youj but I still hold you in my soul, which watches over your life. I knew, ere you yoxirself were aware } I saw months ago, before you yourself had seen. I saw the shadow upon your brow and the anguish of your soul. You have become a stranger to your friends; you shim merrymakings j you keep away from the marketplace and from the dwellings of men. Buried in thought, you renounce life. Jeremiah, bethink yourself. You were trained for the priest- hood. Your father's mantle awaits you, that you may praise the Lord with psaltery and song. Look forth from the darkness into the daylight. The hour has come for you to begin your life's work. Jeremiah Not now the time for beginnings. The end draws nigh. AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 13 The Mother It is time! It is time! Long since have you grown to manhood. The house has need of a wife, and of children to raise up seed to your father. . Jeremiah [In bitter distress] Lead a wife home to desolation? Beget children for the slaughter? In sooth, it is not the bridal hour that approaches! The Mother I do not understand. Jeremiah Shall I build a house in the abyss? Shall I build my life in death? Shall I sow corruption, and sing the praises of disaster? I say unto you. Mother, blessed is he whose heart is now free from ties to the living, for whosoever breathes this day is already I drinking the waters of death. The Mother What mad fancy has seized you? When were the times more propitious? When was the land more peaceful? Jeremiah No, Mother, the fools say: Peace, Peace. But their words do not bring peace. They lie down to sleepi unheeding, and as they sleep they are on their way tol 14 JEREMIAH death. A time is coming such as Israel has never yet know% a war such as the world has never yet seen. The living will covet the peace of the dead in their graves, and those who can see will envy the darkness with which the blind are stricken. Not yet can the fools see, not yet is it manifest to the dreamers j but I have beheld it night after night. Higher leap the flames, nearer comes the foe} the day of tumult and destruction is at hand; war's red star is rising on the night. The Mother [Greatly moved] How know you these things? Jeremiah A word has come to me in secret. For I have seen faces in the night, I have wandered in my dreams. Fear and dread fell upon me, I trembled in every limb. And like a crumbling wall My heart fainted within me. Mother, Such sights have I seen. That, if they were written. Men's hair would stand on end, And sleep would depart from them For ever. The Mother; Jeremiah, what do you mean? AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 15 Jeremiah The end draweth nearj the end! Evil appeareth out of the north, Fire is its chariot, Massacre its pinions! Already the heavens ring with terror, I The earth shakes with the stamping of the hoofs. The Mother [Horrified] Jeremiah! Jeremiah [Seizing her arm, listens] Do you hear, do you not hear, the rushing of chariots? The Mother I hear nothing! Day is dawning. The shepherds are piping in the valleys, and a gentle breeze blows across the roof. Jeremiah A gentle breeze? Woe is me! With mighty roaring The wind is rising. The whirlwind of God. From the caverns Of the north down-rushing, Terror it brandishes Over the town. Mother! Mother! Do you not hear it? i6 JEREMIAH Swords clash in the wind, Loud roar the chariot wheels, The night flashes with lances and with armor j Warrior upon warrior, countless in number, The whirlwind scatters over the land. The Mother All is illusion, the madness of dreams! Jeremiah \ They are coming, they are coming. Strangers from the east, Men of an ancient people. Men of a mighty people. They hasten from the east In unending files; Their arrows speed like lightning j Their chargers are shod with swiftness; Their chariots are solid as rock. Among them there rideth. With blood-stained crown. The destroyer of cities By fire and sword. The tyrant of nations, ■The king of kings from the north. The Mother The king from the north? You dream. The king from the north! b, AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 17 Jeremiah Whom the Lord has awakened That he may scourge the people for all its transgressionS| That he may crumble the walls and throw down the towers, That he may quench the light and the laughter of homes, That he may raze the city and the temple to the ground, And that he may plough up the streets of Jerusalem. The Mother Blasphemous folly!. The dty endureth for ever! Jeremiah It is falling! The onslaughts of God None may withstand! Below ground Its roots shall wither, Above groimd Its fruits shall rot! With axe and with fire The horsemen shall ravage Israel's forest and Zion's fair plains. The Mother; [Breaking in] It is false! Ne'er shall an enemy circle our wall, David's city be taken, Jerusalem fall. Though foes from the ends of the earth should rage. 1 8 JEREMIAH The towering battlements ever shall stand. Firm Israel's heart, and mighty her hand, Eternal the days of Jerusalem! Jeremiah It IS falling! Broken is the staff and foretold is the hour* The end draws near, the end of Israel. The Mother False prophet! We are the elect of the Lord, and our strength shall endure through the ages! Never shall Jerusalem perish! Jeremiah I have seen it in my dreams; 'twas made plain to The Mother Evil is he who dreams such dreams, and seven times an evildoer he who believes them. Alas that I should have lived to see this day when my own blood is fearful for Zion and has lost faith in the Lord! Jeremiah, do you wish me to curse the womb that bore you? Jeremiah The horror came upon me against my will} naught could I do to ward off the faces. The Mother Watch and pray against them and shatter their lies AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 19 in the name of the Lord. Forget not, Jeremiah, that you are an anointed and consecrated son, that your voice should praise the Lord, that you should uplift the hearts of the sorrowful and fill with hope the minds of the despairing!, Jeremiah How can I? My own despair is the greatest of all. Leave me. Mother, leave me! The Mother I will not leave you, neither will I abandon your soul to despair. Jeremiah, my only son, hearken to me. For the first time let me tell you something which may awaken your courage. Hear the words that are forced from me by my distress. I, too, was once filled with despair, inasmuch as for ten years the Lord had closed my womb. I was the sport of my companions and the mock of the concubines. For ten long years I bore my lot patiently, and had almost given up hope; but in the eleventh year my heart was kindled, and I went to the house of God to implore him that my womb should bear fruit. Throwing my- i self on the ground, I watered it with tears, vowing | that if a son were vouchsafed me I would devote him to the Lord's service. I swore to be silent, to utter no word during my time of trial, that my son in days to come might speak abundantly, praising God. Jeremiah You also consecrated me, Mother? 20 JEREMIAH The Mother The selfsame day your father knew me and I was blessed with you. Hearken, Jeremiah. For nine months did I faithfully refrain from speech that you might speak abundantly, that you might glorify the everlasting God! Thus did I fulfil my vow, and we brought you up to read the scripture, and sweetly did you sing to the psaltery. Know, then, that from the first you were a consecrated priest and devoted to the service of the Lord. Rend the veil of your dreams and come forth into the daylight Jeremiah A double consecration. Mother, a twofold witness of this night. A second time you have called me to life. Through your words the light has come to me, for, wonderful to relate, I cried my question to God and he sent you to speak to me! Now do I know who knocked on the wall of my sleep until I awakened from my life's slumber; now do I know who summoned me. The Mother What has befallen you? Your words are like those of a drunken man. Jeremiah Yea, drunk am I now with the certainty of his willj so full am I of speech, that the words must forth. The seals upon my mouth are broken, and my lips bum to utter the revelation. AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 21 The Mother Woe is me if you should reveal your mad dreams. Tou are no son of mine if you cry such fancies aloud! Jeremiah Your son, Mother? Indeed and indeed I am your son, with a fate like imto yours! Learn that I too have been barren, and that the Lord hath quidcened me with a word and a secret. I have renewed your vow. Mother, and have given myself to the Lord. The Mother Go, then, to God's house. Give yourself to him who has called you, praise his holy name. Jeremiah Nay, Mother, not for me the service of the sacri- j ficial priest. I myself must be the sacrifice. For God^ my veins run blood j for him my flesh is consumed} for him my soul bums. I will serve him as none ever served him before j his paths shall henceforward be mine. Behold the dawn upon the valley, and within j me likewise is darkness dispelled by light! God's / heaven flames, and in me no less the heart is aflame./ Chariot of Elijah, fiery chariot, carry my words that/ they may fall like thunder into the hearts of menJ My lips scorch me, I must go, I must go. I The Mother Whither would you go ere the day has well begun? 22 JEREMIAH Jeremiah I know not| God knoweth. The MoTHEit Tell me what you mean to do. Jeremiah I know not, I know not! My heart is hi% and my deeds are his. The Mother Jeremiah, you shall not go unless you swear to me to say naught of your dreams . . . Jeremiah I will not swear!. I am vowed to him alone. The Mother . • . to refrain from breathing terror into the people. Jeremiah His is the revelation, mine are the lips alone! The Mother Woe is me, you will not hearken to my words. Know, then, that he who sows despair in Israel shall never enter my house more. AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 23 Jeremiah His is my word} my dwelling is his care. The Mother Who believes not in Zion is no longer my son. Jeremiah I am his alone, his who placed me within thy womb. The Mother You will go then? But first hear me, Jeremiah, hear me before you open your lips to the people. With all my strength do I curse him who spreads terror over Israel, I curse . . . Jeremiah [Shuddering] Curse not. Mother, curse not! The Mother I curse him who saith the walls shall fall and the streets be laid waste j I curse him who cries death over Israel. May his body be consumed with fire and his soul fall into the hands of the living God. Jeremiah Curse not. Mother . . . 24 JEREMIAH The Mother I curse the unbeliever, who has more faith in his own dreams than in God's mercy. Cursed be he who denies God, were he my own son! For the last time, Jeremiah, choose! Jeremiah I follow my own path. [ Wkh heavy steps he makes ready to descend the stair The Mother Jeremiah, my only son, the stay of my old age, bring not my curse upon you, for God will hear it as he heard my vow. Jeremiah I, too, am vowed to him, Mother; me also has he heard. Farewell! {He descends the first step] The Mother [With a loud cry] Jeremiah! You trample me down. Your footsteps crush my heart. Jeremiah I know not the road along which I move. All I know is that one calls me, and I follow the call. [He slowly goes down the stair, his face expressing re- strained emotion^ and his gaze turned heavenward] [1 AWAKENING OF THE PROPHET 25 The Mother [Rushing in despur to the top of the staircase^ Jeremiah ! Jeremiah ! Jeremiah ! [There is no ansvoer. Her cry sinks to a wail, and after a while she is silent. Her figure, broken with grief, is silhouetted against the sky, where the colors of dawn are showing in fre and Hood] h- THE WARNING SCENE TWO The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him. Jeremiah, XXVIII, 8 and 9. "*• b SCENE TWO The great square of Jerusalem. Thet^ce a broad long flight of steps leads to the forch of pilars of the fortress of Zion; on the right is the lAn^s falace and in the center the adjoining temfle. On the other side the great square is bounded by houses and streets which seem low and mean in contrast with the towering struc- tures facing them. The walls of the entrances to the falace are lined with cedar ^ carved with figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, all overlaid with gold; there are lovers in the foreground with running water. In the background are seen the brazen gates of the temple. In front of the palace, in the streets and on the stair- way, the people of Jerusalem move to and fro con- fusedly; a motley mass of men, women, and children, swayed by strong excitement, and in eager expectation. Many voices rise from the crowd, usually in animated dispute, but uniting at times to a single cry. When the scene opens, all have pressed towards the streets and are restlessly expectant. Voices The sentinel has already given the ^gnal from the tower. — ^No, not yet. — But I heard the trumpet. — So did I. — So did I. — ^They must be close at hand. — From which side are they coming? — Shall we see them?. 31 32 JEREMIAH Other Voices They are coming from Moria Gate. — They must pass this way as they go to the palace. — ^Don't bloc^ up the whole street. — We want to get a sight of them.r— Stand back. — ^Room, room for the Egyptians. A Voice But is it certain that they are coming?] Another Voice I myself spoke to the messenger who brought the tidings* Voices He spoke with the messenger. — ^Tell us all about it. — ^How many are there?— Do they bring gifts? — Who is their leader? — Speak up, Issachar! [A group forms round Issachar] Issachar I can only tell you what the messenger, my father- in-law, told me. Pharaoh is sending the finest war^ riors of Egypt. With them are many slaves bearing gifts. Nothing like these gifts has come to Zion since the days of Solomon. Voices Long live Pharaoh! — Glory to his rdgnf — ^Hail Egypt! kKL; THE WARNING 33 An Old Man No alliance with Egypt! Their wars are not ours! ISSACHAR But our need is the same as theirs. They do not want to be the slaves of the Chaldeans. Voices No we, nor we. — ^Down with Ashur. — ^Let us break the yoke. — Let us be on our guard. Baruch [A young man, in great excitement] We spend our days in chains. Month after month, when the moon is new, our messengers go forth to Babylon bearing tribute of golden shekels. How long shall we suflFer it? Zebulon [Baruch's father] Silence. It is not for you to speak. A light yoke is the yoke of Chaldea. Voices But we want no yoke at all. — ^The day of freedom has dawned. — ^Down with Ashur! — ^Let us form an alliance with the Egyptians. Zebulon Never did good come out of Mizraim. We must • feel oiu" way cautiously, patient and ever mistrustful. , II 34 JEREMIAH Voices We mvfis renew the furniture of the temple. — Ho longer shall Baal enjoy oiu* holy things. — ^Down with the robbers of the temple! — ^Now is the appointed hour* ■ Other Voices [From farther up the street^ They are coming!! They are coming!, Voices [From all sides] Here they are. — Make room.— G)me higher up.— G)me back here. — I can see them already. You can see them from here. [The people swarm up the steps and form a lane through which the Egyptian embassy can pass to the palace. At first nothing can be seen of the newcomers but the spear points showing above the noisy throng] Voices How finely they march. — ^Who is the leader? — Araxes is their leader. — ^Look at the gifts. — ^Look at the carrying chairs. — One of them is curtained. — ^That must be Pharaoh's daughter. — ^Hail Araxes! — ^Hail Egypt! — Those are heavy chests j there must be gold in them! — ^We shall have to pay for it with our blood! — ^How short their swords are. — Ours are better.— Look at their proud gait. — ^They must be mighty war- riors. — ^Long live Pharaoh-Necho. — ^Hail Egypt!— God punish Ashur. — ^Hail Araxes! — Blessings on . Pharaoh! — ^Blessings on the alliance! ^ JHE WARNING 35 [With frenzied acclamations, the feofle close in upon the procession of the Egyptians. These latter^ richly appareled, march proudly hy. They rattle iheir swords and make gracious acknowledgments^ Baruch [Speaking from the steps] May the king fulfil your wishes!. May he cement the alliance! [The Egyptians have mounted the steps to the palace, and have entered the porch of pillars. The people throng at their heels. Other sections of the crowd disappear into the streets. On the steps there now remain only isolated groups of the older men, while the soldiers and the women hasten after the Egyptians, eager to see what they are bearing, and vanishing after the train in the entry to the palace] Baruch [Who has been looking on in ecstasy] I must go with them. Zebulon Stay where you are. Baruch I want to see for myself how Israel rises against the oppressors. My soul is consumed with desire to behold great deeds, and now the hour is at hand. Zebulon Stay where you are. The time is God's choice, not ours. The king will decide. 36 JEREMIAH Baruch Listen to the shouts of joy!, Let me go with them, father. Zebulon You wiU have many other opportunities. The people always flock to hear loud talkers, and crowd ever to witness showy sights. AInother Why do you deny him the pleasure? Is not the day come for which we have been longing? Friends have been raised up for Israel. Zebulon Never was Mizraim the friend of Israel. Baruch Our shame is theirs, and Israel's need is Egypt's. Zebulon Naught have we in common with any other folk on earth. Our strength lies in isolation. The Other: But they will fight for us. IHE WARNING 37 Zebulon They will fight for themselves. Each nation fights for itself alone. Baruch Are we still to be slaves? Shall Zedekiah be a king of slaves, and Zion remain in bondage to Chaldea?, ,Were but Zedekiah a true king! Zebulon Silence, I command you. It befits not a boy to lay down the law for kings. Baruch It is true that I am young; but who is Jerusalem, if it be not her young men? It was not the cauti< elders who built Jerusalem. David, young established her towers, and made her great the nations. Zebulon Hold your peace. You have no right to speak in the marketplace. Baruch Shall only the cautious elders speak, none but the aged give counsel, that Israel may grow old before her time and God's word decay in oiu- hearts? The moment is ours, and it is for us to take revenge. Tou have abased yourselves, and we will lift ourselves up; you have faltered, but we will bring fruition} you had peace, and we want war. 38 JEREMIAH Zebulon What do you know of war? We, the fathers, have known war. In books war is great, but in reality war is a destroyer, a ravisher of life. Baruch I fear not war. Let us have done with slavery!. A VoicB 2^ekiah hath sworn an oath of peace. Voices The oath matters nothing. — Let him break his oath. — No oath need be kept with the heathen. Other Voices [Exultant, coming from the street^ Abimelech! — Hail Abimelech! — ^Abimelech, our l^er! [Groups crowd round Abimelech, the general, and acclaim him] Voices Abimelech! — Is it true that Egypt oflFers an alliance? Draw your sword. — ^Up, march against Ashiu*. — Gather Israel's forces. — ^We are ready. — ^We.are ready. Abimelech [Speaks to the crowd from the top of the steps] Make ready, people of Jerusalem, for the hour of freedom is at hand. THE WARNING 39 [The crowd shouts exultantly^ Pharaoh-Necho has oflFered us the help of his armies. He wishes us to join him in breaking the might of Ashur, and we shall do it, people of Jerusalem* The Crowd On against Ashur. — ^War with Chaldea. — ^Hail Abimelech! A Warrior We shall drive them before us like sheep. They have grown soft in the houses of the women, and their king has never worn harness. A Voice That is false. The Warrior Who says it is false? The Voice I say so. I have been in Babylon and I have seen Nebuchadnezzar. He is a mighty man of valor, and his soldiers have no equals. Voices Wretch, you praise oiu* foes. — ^He is sold to the enemy. — ^His wife is a Chaldean. — She has gone a-whoring with all the men of Babylon. — ^Traitor! 40 JEREMIAH The Warrior [Approaching the speaker] Do you mean to say that we cannot beat them? The Voice I say that the Chaldeans are mighty men. The Warrior [Pressing closer] Look upon my fist, and say once more that they are better than the men of Israel. Voices Say it agdn. — Tear him to pieces. — ^Traitor. — Traitor. The Speaker [Encircled by a threatening mob, loses courage] I did not say that. All I meant to say was that they are many in number. Abimelech Always have our foes been many, and always have we laid them low. Voices Who can stand against us? — ^We have overthrown all our enemies. — ^None can withstand us. — ^Death to him who despises our power. [Messengers hasten from the palace] THE WARNING 41 The Crowd [ Thronging round them\ Whither so fast? — ^What wrs do you bear? — ^Whom do you seek? — ^What's news afoot? A Messenger The king has sununoned the council. Voices War. — ^He decides for war. — ^War. Abimelech Whom has he summoned? The Messenger Imre, the oldest burgher; Nahum, the steward. To you also the summons goes forth. Abimelech Waverers and wiseacres are to be my fellow coun- cilors} men who weigh their words overmuch and shrink from deeds. But I have my sword with me, and I will cast it from me if I may not draw it against Ashiu-. Yours is the hour, people of Jerusalem; I fight in your behalf. The Crowd Hail Abimelech. — ^Hail Abimelech, hail soldier of God.— Hail! [Abimelech hastens into the palace] 42 JEREMIAH Baruch Follow him, follow him! The king shall hear our voices. Let us thunder our will beneath the windows of his palace. Zebulon I shall disown you if you do not hold your peace. The king has summoned a council, and there must be no clamor to distiu*b its deliberations. Baruch He shall not deliberate. Let him dedde! Let him decide for war! We are all for war. Voices Yes, all of us. — ^All of us. — Shout that the king may hear us. A Voice Nay, I am not for war, I am not for war. Voices Silence. — Traitor. — ^Another spy. — ^Who are you? — Down with him. — ^Who are you? The Speaker I am a peasant, and in peace only will my land bear fruit. War comes trampling across my fields. No war for me, I am against it. THE WARNING 43 Baruch [Savagely] Shame upon you! May you rot amid your fields and be choked with your fruits! Cursed be he whose courage is measiu-ed by his gains, and cursed be he who values his own pitiful life more than the welfare of his country! Israel is our land for tillage. We will manure it with oiu* blood. Are we not happy, brothers, to die for the one God? The Peasant Die, then, and let me live. I love the land. This, too, is God's, and he has given it to me for my own. Baruch Nothing is given to us for oiu* own. We hold every- thing in trust from the living God, and must restore everything when the call comes. Now has the call sounded} let us hearken to it gladly. The signs are fulfilled. Where are they who should reveal his words? Where are they who disclose his spirit, who can spiu- on the slothful and make the deaf hear? Where are the priests, and where the prophets? Why are their voices silent at this hoiu- in Jerusalem? Voices Yes. — The prophets. — ^Where are the priests? Baruch To the temple! Nothing must be done without God's word! Let the men of God decide. 44 JEREMIAH Voices Yes, where are our shepherds? In them is the truth. — ^Hananiah — ^Pashur — where are they? Open the temple. — Open the gates. — ^Hananiah. — ^Pashur. [Some of the crowd race uf the steeps and knock upon the brazen gates. The gates open and Hananiah appears. He is received with fierce acclamations] Baruch Hananiah, messenger of God, the people thirst for your speech. Let your words pour forth to kindle our hearts, to make fruitful our wrath, and to direct our aim. The fate of Jerusalem is in your hands. The Crowd Pour forth God's word over us. — ^Reveal the prom- ise. — Say, shall we fight? — ^Let us know God's will. — Teach the people, messenger of the Lord, teach the king. — Give utterance to the promise. — ^Look upon our weakness. — ^Awaken our courage. Hanantiah [Standing before the threshold of the temple y speaks with strong emotion] Blessed your questions, blessed your voices, blessed are you, people of Jerusalem, who at length hearken to the cry. For sleep had fallen upon you, Jerusalem} you had been passive in the chains of slavery. The nations have been marching over you as over a drunken manj they have been spitting upon your garments; they have mocked your nakedness. But a call has summoned the sleepers } a THE WARNING 45 message has roused the dreamers } and I will testify to you, now that God has awakened you. The Crowd [Breaking into fanatical cries] Listen to him!-— We are awakened! — It is true that we have been sleep- ing. — ^Tell us, master, is it time? — Say, has the hour struck? Hananiah How long will you refrain from deeds, now that God hath awakened you? How long will you remain passive, now that the Lord hath summoned you? God is athirst, for his pitchers are empty j God is anhim- gered, for his altars are broken j God is cold, for the hangings of the temple have been stolen j God suflFers, for the priests of Baal and the servants of Ashtaroth heap scorn upon him! Cast oflF the yoke, break your chains, raise hosannas, unsheathe yoiu- swords. God has awakened you} fight for the Lord! Baruch Let hosannas sound! Up, Israel; up Jerusalem, and break the yoke! The Crowd Let us break the yoke. — ^Down with Ashiu-. — ^To arms against Nebuchadnezzar. — Unfurl the flag. — ^Tell us, is it time to start? — ^War against Ashur, — Say, shall the victory be ours? Hananiah The voice of the Lord bums within me. The words 46 JEREMIAH come to my mouth like the roaring of the se% and thus do they sound: ^^Arise, Israel. I have delivered Ashiu- into thy hand} clench thy fist, Israel, and break the bones of thy foe! Tread the oppressor beneath thy heels, bring back my stolen goods, deliver me as I deliver thee. Reject those who would counsel thee otherwise; destroy those who would curb thee; pay no heed to the weaklings, and hearken only to the words of my messenger! Hear the words of my messeqgei^ O Israel!^' Jeremiah [Calling wildly from amid the crowd] Heed him not! Heed him not! Heed him not! [A tumult ensues y and the crowd draws apart , disclosing Jeremiah in the midst. He tries to make his way up the steps to the place from which Hananiah is speaking] Voices Who is that speaking? — ^What is he saying? — Who is he? Jeremiah Do not heed him. Pay no heed to him who speaks through the lips onlyj reject the lure of his words. Do not listen to the hypocrites who would lead you into slippery places. Do not fall into the snare of the fowlers. Do not listen to the decoy calling to war. Pashur [The high priest, wearing full vestments, has appeared on the threshold of the temple] Who speaks in the crowd? THE WARNING 47 Hananiah Who speaks against the Lord? Let him show him- self in the open. Jeremiah [Coming forward] Dismay speaks} concern for Jerusalem cries aloud} the mouth of terror is opened. I speak for Israel, and for the life of Israel. Voices Who is he? — I know him not. — ^He is not one of the prophets. — I know him not. — ^Who is he? A Voice It is Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests in Anathoth. Voices Who is Jeremiah? — ^Who is he? — ^What do the people of Anathoth want in Jerusalem? — ^He is the son of Hilkiah. — ^Who is he? — ^What does he want? Pashur [To Jeremiah, who is mounting the steps] Away from the steps of the temple! The messengers of the Lord, the men of God and the prophets, may alone tread the holy threshold. To none but us is it given to reveal God's will. Jeremiah Who dares declare that to him only has the Lord 48 JEREMIAH voiu:hsafed wisdom and the secret of his will? God speaks to men in dreams, and to me likewise has he sent dreams. He has filled my nights with horror, and has I awakened me at due time; he has given me a mouth I that I may speak and a voice that I may cry aloud* He has breathed dismay into my mind that I may spread it over you like a burning cloth, I will utter my dismay on behalf of Jerusalem; I will cry my cry before the people; I will reveal my dreams. Baruch Away with dreamers and interpreters of dreams. The hour needs waking men. Hananiah Dreams come to all. Beasts stir in their sleep, and the dreams of slaves are full of visions. Who has anointed you, that you should speak before the temple? Voices No. — ^Let him speak. — ^We want to hear him. — He is out of his mind. — ^Let him reveal his dreams. — ^The marketplace is free to all. — God's house is free. Speak, Jeremiah. Pashur Not from the threshold of the temple. Hananiah I am the prophet of God, and there is no other prophet in Israel to-day. You shall hear my words, THE EARNING 49 not those of the chatterers in the streets. Scourge the dreamers out of the marketplace. Baruch He is a coward^ shun his terrors. Voices Let him speak. — We want to hear what he has to say. — No, let Hananiah speak. — ^Perhaps Jeremiah is sent by the Lord. — Why should not we hear him. — Speak, Jeremiah. — ^What has he dreamed? — Revela- tion often comes in dreams. — Let him speak, Hananiah. — We can compare their words. — Speak, Jeremiah. Jeremiah [From the top of the steps] Brothers in Israel, brothers in Jerusalem, in my dream I heard a storm burst upon the city, and I saw warriors assail our walls. The pillars fell and the battlements were laid low. Fire sat upon the roofs like a red beast devouring our dwellings. No stone was left standing upon another, and the streets were laid waste. I saw the dead lying in heaps upon the ground, so that my heart was turned within me and my mouth was unsealed even in sleep. Pashur Madness is crying from the steps of the temple. Hananiah The falling sickness afflicts him, and he in turn afflicts us. so JEREMIAH Ba&uch Down with him. Voices No, wc want to hear his dreams. — What do they mean? — ^He is a madman — ^Hc is a f ooL — Away with him! Jeremiah But, farathers, when I awakened in the sweat of my body, I mocked myself even as you mock me now. Did not peace brood over the land} were not the walls untouched, so that no breeze stiired athwart them? I went forth from the house full of shame for my own terrors} I sought the marketplace that I mi^t rejoice in its peace. But when I came thither I heard shouts of exultadonj and my heart broke within me, for the shouts were clamors for war. Brothers, my soul was bitter as call, and the words came to my lips agaunst my will. ^T^ me^ is war ^ predops thi^ ygi%,^^[}^)ld praise it? Is it so kindly that you should long for it? Docs it bring so much good that you should gre et it with all the warmth of >*our heart? I say unto yoo, I>eople of Jerusalem, that war is a fierce and evil beast^ one that devours the flesh of the strong and sucfe the marrow of the nught\-, crushing towns in its jaws and trampling the land beneath its hoofs. Those who awaken it, shall not again lay it to sleep; and he who draws the swordji is like to perisih by the sword. Woe, therefore, to the contentious nun who quarrels when there is no need, for he shjdl vvme out upon one way, and flee ujK>n se\"en. Woe to those who murder peace with the words of their mouth. Beware of all such, O people of Jerusalem. \\ THE WARNING 51 Baruch Beware of cowards, O people of Jerusalem j beware of traitors in the pay of the enemy. Hananiah What promise does he bring? Where is God's word? He speaks for Babylon and for Baal. Voices No, no. — ^His words are just. — ^There is much truth in what he says. — ^Let him deliver his message. — Dreams. — ^Where is the promise? — Go on. — ^We want to hear him too. Jeremiah Why do you awaken the ravening beast with your shouts. Why do you summon the king of the north to your dty? Why do you clamor for war, men of Jerusalem? Did you beget yoiu* sons for slaughter, and your daughters for shame? Did you build your houses for destruction by fire, and your walls for the battering ram? Bethink thee, Israel j call a halt ere thou runnest into the darkness, Jerusalem. Is thy slavery so hard, are thy sorrows beyond assuagement? Look around. God's sun shines over the land j the vines bloom in peace} lovers walk happily together; children play imhindered; the moon shines gently over the sleep of Jerusalem. Fire and water keep their appointed placGSy the storehouses are well filled, and God has his spacious mansion. Say, Israel, is it not well with thee within the walls of Zion; art thou not blithe in the valleys of Sharon; art thou not happy by the blue 52 JEREMIAH waters of Jordan? Let it suffice thee to live at peace under God's tranquil gaze. Hold fast to peace, people of Jerusalem. Zebulon His words are just! Hail unto him. His speech is golden. Pashur Like the gold of Chaldea. Voices Yes, he has been bribed. — ^No, his words are just. — . Peace. — ^We want peace. — ^He is a traitor. — ^He is in the pay of Ashur. — ^Let him speak. — ^No, Ebuianiah is right. — Let us listen to Hananiah. Hananiah Away with you, away. Go, talk to Samaria, the land of slaves. Deliver your message to Moab, or to the undrcumdsed, but not to Israel, God's first-bom among the nations. Baruch [Menacingly, to Jeremiah] Answer me, in face of the people. Is our slavery to endure? Are we still to pay tribute to Chaldea? Answer me, traitor. Voices Yes, yes. — ^Answer. — Speak. — ^Are we to go on paying tribute? — ^Answer. THE WARNING 53 Jeremiah Loudly do I speak my mind before the people. It is 1 better to pay tribute of gold to the enemy than tribute ' of blood to war. It is better to be wise than powerful} it is better to be the servant of God than the ruler of men. Hananiah Man of servile obedience, slave of Chaldea, will you deny God's word which commandeth war against the oppressor J will you deny his holy word? Jeremiah But it is also written: ^^In returning and rest shall ye be saved} in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.'' Voices Yes, thus is it written. — ^He speaks truth. — ^His words are the words of wisdom. — ^Nay, he twists the scripture to his own purpose. Hananiah This is written of an unholy war, of dissension among the brethren of Israel. But ours is a holy war, a war of God waged in the everlasting name of Jerusalem, a war of God, a war of God. Jeremiah G>uple not God's name with war. Not God makes war, but man. No war is holy} no death is holy} life alone is holy. 54 JEREMIAH Baruch You lie! Life is given us that we may sacrifice it to God. I will oflFer myself upon his altar, I will fall before his foes, I will die for Israel and for Israel's rule upon earth. Never shall Israel be vanquished so long as all her sons share these thoughts. Hananiah Never shall Israel be vanquished while God's stars shine in heaven. If we join forces with Egypt, Babylon will fall into our hands within three months. Voices {Exultantly^ Within three months. — Hail Hana- niah. — Hearicen to Hananiah. — ^Within three months. Hananiah Israel will gain the victory over countless thousands. Baruch He spreads fear as they spread gold before him. Voices Israel shall rule the nations. — ^Down with Ashur. — War. — War. — ^Nay, peace. — ^Peace in Israel. — ^War. — War. — ^He is speaking for Ashur. — ^He is a traitor. — Do those only speak truth who clamor for war? — ^He has taken bribes. — ^Let us not decide too quickly. THE WARNING 55 Baruch Send the coward to the house of the women! A Woman [Spining en Jeremiah] His company would bring shame on us. That for the man whose cringing is a disgrace! War against Ashur! Jeremiah [Flashing out in wrath] Who are you that you crave blood so fiercely? Did you bear children and sudde them only for the tomb? A curse upon the man who thirsts for bloody but seven times accursed be the woman who is eager for warj for war shall devour the fruit of her womb, and the men of Ashur shall cast lots for her and for her raiment You and such as you shall be mourners, tearing your cheeks with your nails, and uttering shrill cries of lamentation, you women who spit upon me and revile peace. Women's Voices Woe, Woe ! Listen to the curse. — Our sons. — Woe, woe! — ^Man of terror! — Woe!) Baruch You can frighten women, faint-heart, but not men. Down, down! Certain Warriors Down with him. Hunt him into the street. r S6 JEREMIAH Hananiah Close his mouth! Voices Away with him! — ^He frightens women. — ^Away with him. — ^He has foretold enough disaster. — My flesh crept while he was speaking. — Let him hold his peace. Jeremiah ^TTwill not hold my peace, for Jerusalem cries aloud Ithrough my mouth. The walls of Jerusalem stand up |in my heart, and would fain still stand; the land of I Israel blossoms in my soul, and my hope is to safe- I guard it. Thy own blood calls through me, Jerusalem, that it may not be shedj thy seed, that it may not be scattered J thy stones, that they may not fallj and thy name, that it may not perish. Stand firm, waverer, and gather thy children under thy care; hearken, Jeru- salem, to my voice of warning. Hearken, Zion, thou citadel of God. Keep the peace, keep the peace! Voices [Fiercely disputing] Yes. — God's peace upon Israel. — ^Traitor. — ^He has taken a bribe. — God's peace upon us. — I would fain save my sons. — ^War. — War against I Ashur. — ^Leave the matter to the king. — ^He is a traitor. —We want to live at peace. — He is a coward. — ^He has sold himself to the enemy. — ^War. — ^Peace. — ^Hana- niah speaks the truth. — Nay, Jeremiah speaks the truth. — ^Break the yoke. — War. — ^Peace. [A bustle arises at the entrance to the falace. A number of men come forth. In their midst is Abim- ELECH, swordless] i% THE WARNING 57 Voices [From among the newcomers^ Treason, — ^Treason. — ^Treason in IsraeL [The dispute around Jeremiah ceases] Voices What has happened? — ^Abimelech. — ^What has hap- pened? — ^He comes from the king. — ^Abimelech. — Look at his angry frown. — ^Tell us what has happened. Abimelech [Standing at the top of the steps beside Jeremiah] Israel has been sold by the weaklings; chaffered away by the hucksters. Imre and Nahum gained the upper hand in the council. They spoke against Egypt^ and the king hearkened to their words. Voices Down with Nahum. — ^Treason. — ^Imre, the dotard. — ^Traitor. — ^What was the decision? — What did the king say? — ^Peace, hail to peace. — God's judgment. Abimelech His heart quaileth within him, for he dreads war. He will think the matter over, will take further counsel ere he dedde. Jeremiah Glory to Zedekiah, girdled with wisdom! 58 JEREMIAH Abimelech He is hedged about with weakness; old age and fear are his counselors. For my part I threw my sword aside, for no longer will I wear a sword while Zion pays tribute to Ashur. Baruch [In ecstasy^ Soldier of God, your sword is holy ^ce it flashes for IsraeL Pashur Blessings upon you that you will have naught to do with hucksters. Hananiah Shall we still hesitate? Whose is the hour? Is it that of Nahum, the huckster, and that of Imre, the dotard J or is it your hour, people of Jerusalem? God's hoiu" has come, therefore seize it. To the palace, to the king J let him behold us and hear us. People of Jerusalem, raise yoiu- voices, give vent to the breath of your anger. To the palace, to the palace! Pashur To the king! Show yourselves to him, people of Jerusalem. To the king and to victory! Such is God's will. Voices To the king! — ^To the palace! — ^To victory! JHE WARNING 59 Jeremiah [Springing forward to block the entry to the forch of pillar s\ Keep the peace, keep the peace j you are muixlering Jerusalem. Baruch [Drawing his sword] Here^s for him who still spedcs of peace^; Hananiah Cut him down! Pashur Down with the traitorlj Jeremiah Help me, friends of Godj help me to save Jerusalem. Baruch For the last time! Let us pass in to the king. [He endeavors to push Jeremiah aside\ Jeremiah [Resists and shouts at the top of his voice] No step will I yield to folly! Peace! God's peace be upon Israel. [Baruch cuts him downy and Jeremiah falls bleeding to the foot of the steps] 6o JEREMIAH The Crowd [Scattering in horror] Murden — ^They have killed him. — Murden — ^Who is it? — ^Jeremiah. — ^They have killed him. — ^Woe. — ^Why use force? — ^Why Idll the prophets? — ^Justice has been dealt on the liar. — To the king, to the king! [Baruch stands thunderstruck with lowered sxvord] Hananiah [Shouts exultantly] May such be the fate of all faint-hearts, all slaves of Chaldea, all hirelings of [Ashur! To the palace, to the king. Save Israel, deliver Jerusalem. Abimelech Death to traitors! Vengeance on Ashiu*! Pashur God has struck him down. Hananiah God's thunderbolt has fallen on the liar. The Crowd [After its brief fause of consternation^ begins to flovo into the forch of pilars of the palace] To the king. — ^Let Israel rule the nations. — ^War. — War against Ashur. — ^Down with the traitors. — ^To the king. — God is on our side. — ^Down with Ashur.— THE WARNING 6i Freedom. — ^Freedom. {Rejoicing they stream into the palace] [Jeremiah still lies in a swoon at the base of the steps, none heeding him. The crowd passes over him in a floody leaving him like jetsam among the stones. Baruch, who, in his bewilderment, was swept along by the mob, has struggled back from among them. Slowly, as if driven by an inner force, he comes down to the swooning many bends over him, feels his brow, and listers for his breath] Baruch Jeremiah, speak, Jeremiah, if you are still alive. {He raises Jeremiah into a sitting posture] Jeremiah [His eyes still closed, not yet himself, speaks hesi^ tatingly] The fiery cloud has fallen. Fire is raging through the town. Woe is me! Baruch Keep still a moment, that I may wipe the blood from your eyes. Jeremiah Away! Your face was full of hatred towards me. Your eyes flashed fiercely. Was it not you who struck me down? Baruch I indeed it was who drew sword upon you in anger, 62 JEREMIAH but the blade turned in my hand so that I struck you with the flat only. I rejoice thereat, for I drew up uriu^f to unm! Sentinels to the walls. Voices Whrtt dty*:^ the nwn «y: — ^Who has been beaten? — Whore iH Phamoh? — ^^\>u don*t know what you are ^ RUMORS 93 talking about. — Get him some water.-r-Nebuchad- nezzar alive? — It is impossible. — ^What has become of the Egyptians? The Messenger Water! I am worn out. The Egyptians have been routed. Necho has made peace, and must pay tribute to Ashur. Nebuchadnezzar is coming} his riders are at my heels. I must to the king. [Some of the crowd helf the Messenger to the falace] Voices [From the back] What did he say? — ^Are the Chaldeans beaten? — ^Why does not the man tell us what has happened? [Anxiety gradually spreads through the crowd y and the tumult of rejoicing is stilled. In their stupefac- tion all are mute for a while , and then terrified voices break the silence] The Crowd Impossible! — It cannot be true. — ^The man is a liar. — ^He was drunk. — ^Nay, he was only staggering from fatigue. — ^He said the horsemen were hard at his heels. — ^The whole story is false. — ^The messenger had not the mien of a liar. — It cannot be true. — God would never allow such a thing to happen. A Voice [Loudly] Pharaoh has betrayed us. 94 JEREMIAH Other Voices [Quickly and angrily taking up the cry] Pharaoh has betrayed us. — ^A curse upon Pharaoh. — ^Egypt has sworn a peace. — ^A curse upon Mizraim. — ^Thc Egyptians are traitors. A Voice I have always said that we should never form an alliance with Egypt Voices So did I. — So did I. — We all said so. — ^AocursM be Pharaoh. — ^What will happen to us now? — ^Alas for Israel. — My wife. — My children. — I warned you what would happen. — So did I. « A Man [Rushing in] To arms! To arms! Close the gates, Nebuchadnezzar and his hordes are at hand. The advance guard has already reached Hebron. Voices Hebron did he say? — ^To arms! — Nay, peace, peace! Let us march out against him. — All is lost. — ^From the very first I told you what would happen. One of the Crowd [Pointing to Jeremiah who leans brokenly against a fillar, his face hidden] Look, there is the man. RUMORS 95 Voices iWhat? — ^Who? — ^What do you mean? The Same Man It is his doing. He summoned them. He an- noimced the coming of the messenger. His curse has fallen upon us. Voices Who? — ^Jeremiah! — ^Who is it? — It is Jeremiah, he has cursed us. — It is indeed his doing. — ^He prayed for Nebuchadnezzar's victory. — He is sold to the enemy. — Tear him to pieces; — ^Touch him not} he foretold what would happen} he is a true prophet. — ^He has been bribed. — See how he stands there brooding. The Same Man He hides his face lest we should see his laughter. But he makes merry too soon. Zion still stands } Jerusalem shall endure for ever. [A herald comes hastily from the palace^ Voices A herald. — ^A messenger from the king. — Silence. [The crowd gathers round the steps to hear the herdLd^s announcement] The Herald A message from the king! The enemy is about to attadc Jerusalem. The Chaldeans are at the gates. 96 JEREMIAH Let every man able to bear arms make ready to fight} women must fashion arrows. All that are sick and weakly must leave the city. Let every man store what food he may in his house lest hunger overcome us. For our walls can withstand attack; Baal can do naught against Jehovah, nor can Ashur prevail against Zion. The Crowd True, true. — ^We will make ready. — God is on our side. — ^To arms! The Herald Let none hold backj let none be faint-hearted. Who speaks of fear, him shall ye put to the sword} who talks of flight, him shall ye chase beyond the walls. Ye may not gather in the streets; each shall keep his own house, ready for the fight. Up, Israel! Gather your forces, fearing nothing, for Jerusalem endureth for ever! The Crowd [Again in tumult] Jerusalem endureth for ever.— To arms. — I must fetch my sword. — ^Up, against Ashur. — ^Let us take heart. — ^To the walls. — ^We shall break them. — ^Jerusalem endureth for ever. [ The crowd disperses in confusion^ so that the square is rapidly emptied, and the noise is followed by silence. Jeremiah slowly draws himself up, and, still hiding his face, ascends the steps of the temple. Baruch follows him] Baruch Whither away, master? Do not leave your faithful disciple. RUMORS 97 Jeremiah I must go alone to seek light from the Lord. He made me deliver a sign before the people. Neverthe- less, Baruch, I cannot believe that the faces in my ghastly visions are truly from God. Would that I could feel assured they are all illusion, and not the message of God's spirit. Woe indeed if I be chosen as revealer and if my dreams be true. Baruch You are chosen, master. It has been made plain to me in this hour. The sign came to you from God. The spirit and the power of the prophets are upon you. Jeremiah [Still mounting the stefSy flees before him, repelling I i Baruch tvith his hands] Say not that I am chosen. ' i Tempt me not! For Israel's sake, for Jerusalem's sake, it is impossible that my words can be true. Far better for me to bear the laughter and the scorn of the people, than that this message of terror should be f ul- 1 filled. Rather let me be proved liar and fool, than I the prophet of such a truth. May I be thy victim I Lord, and not this city. Let me disappear into the darkness of oblivion, if thy towers may still shine, O Jerusalem. May my words vanish like smoke, so long as thou endurest, eternal city. God forget me, if he will but remember thee. I will kneel before his altar praying him to give me the lie; I will beseech him to prove my message false. Pray with me, Baruch, that I be known for a liar in Jerusalem. 98 JEREMIAH [Jeremiah, humbly bending his head, goes up the last steps into the porch of pillars of the temple. Without moving, Baruch gazes after him until he disappears] THE WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS SCENE FOUR Again the word of the Lord came unto me, sayingTl . . . When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people j of the land take a man from among them, and set him | for their watchman, ... if the watchman see the { sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people j be not warned, and the sword come, and take any J person from among them, ... his blood will I require I at the watchman's hand. Ezekiel XXXIII, 1-6. "-^ SCENE FOUR On the ramfarts of Jerusalem. The walls, of hewn stone J surround the town. In the background is the starry sky, and faint in the distance the valley with hazy outlines and lights twinkling here and there. The masonry shines in the moonlight. On the wall two sentries march uf and down. Their faces are shadowed by their helmets; their spears gleam as they move. Though the hour is late and midnight ap- froacheSy a few civilians have ventured on to the wall and are looking out into the distance. A Woman It is bedtime. You will see the wretches soon enough in the morning. Do come homej this may be our last quiet night. A Man How can one sleep when the enemy is arrayed against us? My heart has been heavier than lead since I have been standing herej and yet I cannot leave. It seems as if I were forced to remain in the flood which is rising to overwhelm us. Last night and to-day the horsemen have been streaming across the plain. Again and again we thought that all must have come, but still there came more and yet more, as if whole countries had been emptied like sacks of grain; while the spears were as the stalks of the com in niunber. 103 104 JEREMIAH Another Already have they pitched their tents, so that a white forest now stands in the valley. A Third Alas, they are settling down for the siege. A Fourth They must have come with the speed of the wind. Yesterday they were still at Bethel, and to-day they have already encircled Zion. The FiRjf Man Terrible is the^ mighr of Ashur. God help us all. The Woman Look at the glow in the north, like a pillar rising heavenward. Second Man That is where Samaria lies. Third Man rris a pillar of fire that rises heavenward. Samaria has fallen. ^ ^ . Voices Alas! — It is not possible.— Samaria is a strong fortress, within a triple wall.-^Nay, it is certainly Samaria. WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 105 A Voice Look there to the east, another pillar of fire. That must be Gilgal. Another Voice They are ravaging the countryside like a hurricane. Fierce is the wrath of Ashur. Another Voice Never should we have entered into a struggle with such as they. Voices Who began it? — Not we. — ^Not I. — It was the king. — It was the priests. — ^We wanted to live at peace with them. A Voice ^gyp^ lured us on, and then betrayed us. Voices Yes, it was Egypt. — ^It was Pharaoh. — ^A curse upon Pharaoh. — The Egyptians have sold us to the enemy, have abandoned us to our misery. — Where are the fifty thousand bowmen they promised? We are alone. — All is lost Another Voice Woe, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Thou art given over to thine enemies, and those who hate thee are showing their teeth. io6 JEREMIAH First Sentry [Fiercely interrupting] Away with you! Why are you loitering on the walls? Home to your wives, and to becL We stand guard for you. AMan We want to see . . . First Sentry There is nothing to see. You have been clamoring for Ashur, and now Ashur has come. Leave it to us men-at-arms to chase them home again. For your- selves, go sleep, or pray if you cannot sleep. A Man But tell us . . . First Sentry Naught to tell. There has been too much talking already} the time has come for blows. Away, away! \The two sentries roughly clear the loiterers from the wall. The crowd disappears in the darkness down the steps leading from the wall into the shadow. When all have gone, quiet reigns. In the white moonlight the sentries stand like figures of brass] First Sentry They give way to despair at the first gleam of an enemy's spear. They must not be allowed to talk like that. ^ WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 107 Second Sentry One who is afraid and cannot master his fear must perforce speak. It is of no use, and yet it gives relief. First Sentry Let them sleep, not chatter. Second Sentry Sleep is not man's servant. Vainly do we summon sleep to a couch of sorrow. To-night many hold vigil and look forth into the moonlight. First Sentry In any case, those alone should speak who wear a sword. We stand guard for all. [The two sentries are silent for a while ^ trtarching to and jro\ Second Sentry [Stofkls and listens] Do you hear?. First Sentry What?; Second Sentry The soimd is very f dnt, but the breeze bears it to us. When I was in Joppa, for the first time I heard in the night the distant murmur of the waves. Such a soimd rises now from the plain. They are there in their thousands, moving quietly, but the air is stirred I io8 JEREMIAH by the rolling wheels and the clashing arms. A whole nation must be afoot, falling upon Israel. The noise echoes from our walls like the noise of the sea^ First Sentry [Obdurately] I refuse to hear anything but my orders. I care not what wheels roll, or noises stir. Second Sentry Why does God hurl the nations against one another? There is room for all beneath the skies. There is still plenty of land unploughedj many forests still awsdt the axe. Yet men turn their ploughshares into swords, and hew living flesh with their axes. I cannot under- stand, I cannot understand. First Sentry It has always been so. Second Sentry But must it always be so? Why does God wish the nations to fight? First Sentry The nations want war for its own sake. Second Sentry What are nations? Are not you one of our nation, am not I another? Are not our wives, your wife and WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 109 mine, part of this same people? Did any of us want war? I stand here armed with a spear, not knowing against whom it is to be turned. Down there in the darkness, unwitting, waits the man for whom it is destined. I know him not, have never seen his face, or the breast I must pierce with death. In the enemy's camp another perchance warms his hands at the camp fire, the man who is to kill the father of my children. He has never seen me, and I have never done him harm. We are strangers, like trees in the forest. They grow quietly and bear their blossoms. But we rage furiously one against the other with axe and with spear, until our blood runs like resin, and therewith the life oozes forth. What puts death between the nations? What is it which sows hatred when there is room and to spare for life, and when there is abundant y^ scope for love? I cannot understand, 1 cannot under- stand! First Sentry These things must be God's will, for they have always happened. I question no further. Second Sentry This crime cannot be God's will. He has given us our lives that we may live them. Everything that men do not understand they describe as God's will. War does not come from God. Whence comes it then? First Sentry How can I tell whence it comes? I know that there is war, and that it is useless to chatter about it. I do / my duty} sharpen my spear, not my tongue. I no JEREMIAH [For a time they are silent once more^ g^fxsng out into the white stillness. . From a great distance come the words of the challenge "Samson guard us,'' scarcely audible at first. Then the sound grows louder, still coming from unseen sentries. At length the words "Samson guard us," loud and clear from the next fost. Our two sentries take up the challenge, and it is heard with diminishing loudness as it passes on round the wall. Again all is still. The two sentries stand silent in the moonlight, their faces shadowed by their helmet s\ Second Sentry Know you aught of the Chaldeans? First Sentry I know that they are our enemies, that they are attacking our homes. Second Sentry I am not thinking about that. Have you ever seen any of them close at hand} do you know their customs and their country? First Sentry I have been told that they are cruel as wild cats and venomous as serpents. It is said that they sacrifice their children to idols of copper and lead. But I have never set eyes on a Chaldean. Second Sentry Nor I. Too many moimtains tower skyward between V WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS in Jerusalem and Babylon j there are rivers to cross, and more country than a man can march over in many weeks. The very stars in the sky are diflFerent, and yet the men of Ashur are arrayed against us and we against them. What do they covet from us? If I were to question one of them, all he could tell me would doubtless be that in his house as in mine are wife and children lying upon straw. I believe if I could talk things over with such a man we should understand one another well enough. Often I feel that I should like to summon one of them, to hold out a friendly hand, so that we could have a heart to heart talk. First Sentry You must not do that. Second Sentry Wherefore not? First Sentry They are our enemies and it is our duty to hate them. Second Sentry Why should I hate them if my heart knows no reason for hatred? First Sentry They began the warj they were the aggressors. Second Sentry Yes, that is what we say in Jerusalem. In Babylon, perchance, they tell another story. If we could talk 112 JEREMIAH things over with them, we might get some light on the question* First Sentry You must not talk with them. Our duty is to strike them down. Such axe our orders, and we must obey. Second Sentry My reason tells me that I must not converse with them, but in my soul I feel that I must. Whom do we serve by compassing their death? First Sentry What a question, simpleton ! We serve God, and the king our master. Second Sentry But God said, and it is written: "Thou shalt not kill'\ Mayhap, if I were to take my sword and cast it from me, I should serve God better than by slaying an enemy. First Sentry But it is likewise written: "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth'\ Second Sentry [Sighs] Many things are written. Who can under- stand them all? First Sentry This IS idle dreaming. The Chaldeans have invested our town J they wish to bum our houses} I stand here WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 113 with sword and spear, and will do my utmost to pre- vent them. Too irtUCh kiiuwledgc 15 imwhol eou mt , I know all I want to know. Second Sentry Yet I cannot but ask myself . . . First Sentry [Sluibomly] You should not ask so many ques- tions. A. soldier's business is to fight, not to reason why. You ponder overmuch, instead of doing your duty unquestioningly. Second Sentry How can a man help questioning himself? How can he be other than uneasy, at such an hour? Do I know where I am, or how long I have still to stand on guard? This darkness beneath the wall, where the masonry is crumbling, will perhaps be my grave to-morrow. Maybe the wind which now caresses my cheek will not find me here in the morning. But can \ I fail, while I live, to ask the meaning of life? The j flame flickers imtil the torch goes out. How can life do other than question imtil it is quenched by death? 5. Maybe death is already within mej perchance the ques- tioner is no longer life, but death. First Sentry You brood and brood. You are only tormenting yourself to no purpose. 114 JEREMIAH Second Sentry God has given us a heart precisely that it may tor- ment us. First Sentry What is the use of talking about it? We are on guard here. That's enough for me. Second Sentry Talking helps to keep us awake, and only the staiB hear our words. [Bolh are again sUent for a Ame\ Second Sentry Who goes there? Someone is moving in the darkness. First Sentry More busybodies. Why cannot they stay in bed? Send them home. Second Sentry No! Let them talk while we stay in the shadow. First Sentry You are a strange fellow. I shall continue my round. [ The two sentries pass into the shadow of the tower on the wall, their figures disappearing in the darkness. The gleam of their spears is still seen from time to time. — ^Jeremiah and Baruch ascend out of the darh^ s. WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 115 ness of the stairway and advance to the battlements, Jeremiah hastening on in front, while Baruch, who does not share the frophei^s excitement, lags in the rear. The second sentry stands unnoticed in the shadow of the tower] Baruch Whither are you leading me, master? Jeremiah On, on! I must look Terror in the face. [He gazes down into the valley, standing motionless and silent] Baruch What are you staring at? Jeremiah [Still gazing] The king has come, the king from the north. [He seizes Baruch's sleeve] Come closer, Baruch! Touch my hand that I may know whether I wake or sleep. Are my eyes open? Is this wall builded of stones or of tears? Does Jerusalem lie behind us unheeding in the darkness? Are the forces of Ashur couched in the plain beneath? Tell me, Baruch, con- "^nce- me that I am dreaming. Shake me till I awake, to laugh at my mad fancy that Zion is encircled by the Chaldeans. Baruch What do you mean, master? I don't understand. How can you doubt? ii6 JEREMIAH Jeremiah Alas, it is true^ then. I am not dreaming now. The horses are there and the chariots} Ashur is arrayed against Zion; the vision is fulfilled. All these miseries spring from my dreams, for they existed in me before they were in the world of reality. I alone knew, before ever God's words became deeds. In me they arose; through me they came^ Yet naught can I do to hinder their flowj nor by sword nor by shield can I stay tbar progress. Baruch Master, you talk at random. Speak in words that I can believe and understand. Jeremiah Words that you can believe? But Baruch will you believe the words that I have to say to you at this hour beneath the stars? I fear you will deny me, will laugh at me, for what I would fain say will sound like non- sense in your ears. Baruch Faith in you is my very life. Jeremiah Hearken, then. [He speaks low and impressively^ All that is now happening, I have beheld in my dreams for months past. Not a star shines in heaven which I have not seen above this wall and above God's temple. I have looked down upon the multitude of the foe, upon their myriad tents. Baruch, do you hear me? P*\ WATCH ON THE RAMPART? 117 Baruch [Shuddering] I hear, I hear. Jeremiah Why was all this made plain to me before the day? It camiot be against God's will that he should disclose his plans to me, should vouchsafe me visions of the future. Nor can I rebel j nor can I be silent j though in truth for long I refused the summons, and stopped my ears to the call. But now, when I see in the real world what has again and again been revealed to me | ^r in dreams, for the first time do I feel assured that God speaks through me. I say to you, Baruch, that I am V* the chosen of the Lord. Woe unto me should I conceal my forebodings from the people and from the king. For this is no more than the beginning, and I know the end. Baruch Reveal it, chosen one. Cry your words aloud. Jeremiah Baruch, do you see the camp and the tents; do you see this sleeping ocean surging down from the north? Baruch [Shuddering] I see the enemy; I see the tents. Jeremiah You see the night, sleep, and the false quiet of repose. But in my ears the trumpets blare and the arms ii8 JEREMIAH clash as the Chaldeans arise and storm the dty. The walls whereon our feet are now planted, crumble at then* onslaught} the cries of the fugitives ring in my ears. The brazen flood foams over us. I hear the beating of Death's wings o'er dty and walls} I see the destruction of Zion. Baruch, waking I see it, for God hath opened an eye within the darkness of my body; my licaiL iiiaketh^iu>i6e4nme; my soul hath heard the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Why sleep they still? Time is it they should wake, ere their sleep pass into death. Verily the hour is come to awaken Jerusalem! Baruch [Stirred hy his words] Yea, yea, Jeremiah, awaken Jerusalem! Jeremiah [More and rr^ore carried away] O foolish people, afflicted town. How, ah how, can you sleep at peace When Death's cold winding sheet is spread Beneath you where you lie. O foolish people, afflicted town, How can you rest when thunder rages? How can you drowse. Lost in dreams. When AshuFs rams Are battering the gates? Who shall waken the fools? Who make the deaf hear? Baruch [Ecstatically] You, master. Cry aloud. Awaken them. Save them from the jaws of death. WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 119 Jeremiah Awaken, awaken, up and away! The land is afire, the foe holds the town I j Flee ere his wrath wholly consume you, Flee from the sword, flee from the flames, Leave your possessions, abandon your homes. Gather your households, your women and children} Ere he can seize you take refuge in flight Up and away! The land is afire, the foe holds the townlj Up and away! Second Sentry [Coming forward from the shadows] Who shouts here? You will waken the sleepers. Jeremiah Oh that I could awaken them. Up, Jerusalem, awake! City of God, save thyself. Second Sentry You are drunk. Go home to sleep. Baruch [Stepping between] Touch him not. Jeremiah I must not sleep. No one must sleep. I am the watchman. Woe to him who hinders me. 120 JEREMIAH Second Sentry [ Taking him by the shoulder] You must be moon- struck to think yourself watchman. I am the watch- man. Away with you. Baruch Touch him not, the chosen of the Lord, the prophet Second Sentry [Loosing Jeremiah] Are you Hananiah, the prophet of God? Baruch It is Jeremiah the prophet Second Sentry Jeremiah, who leads the people astray? Jeremiah who cried through the street that Ashur would prevail? Have you come hither to gloat over the fulfilment of your vision? Too soon, faint-heart, too soon; and yet in an apt moment, prophet of evil, to feel the weight of my anger. I will reveal you something. Baruch {Struggling with the sentry] Hands oflF, touch him not. First Sentry {Entering hurriedly] The king is coming. 2^e- kiah goes the roimds. Clear away the people. WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS .121, Jeremiah The king! God be praised! His meaning is plain. IThe Lord sends him to my hand. First Sentry Away chatterer, avray. Second Sentry Down with you. Away. Creep down there and keep quiet, or you shall rue it. First Sentry Here comes the king. [Jeremiah and Baruch are hustled from the wall and disappear into the dark. The two sentries stand at the extreme edge of the ramparts to leave room for the king and his train to pass. When Zedekiah enters they clash spears on shields in salute and then stand to attention. Zedekiah is making the rounds^ accom^ panted by Abimelech and others. He is unarmed and bareheaded; his face looks pale and thoughtful in the moonlight. He haltSy and gazes for a time over the plain] Zedekiah See how the camp fires bum athwart the pldn. It looks as if the black heavens had fallen upon earth, whence star after star now shines forth*, A people (Coimtless in numbers is encamped round Israel. Spears are leveled j hands are raised; even in sleep, their dreams turn against us. To-morrow they will all arise 122 JEREMIAH as the herbage rises after rain; stillness will be replaced by the screams of death. This is perchance the last night of peaceful slumber. Abimelech Be not despondent, O king. Upon this very wall where now thou standest sorely troubled, stood afore- time King Hezekiah. His mind, likewise, was full of care, for in the plain beneath, wave upon wave, coimt- less like these, lay the hosts of Senaccherib. Then, as now, the flood of Ashur threatened the holy dty. But the Lord stretched forth his hand and smote the enemy with a pestilence. These walls shall never be broken. Jerusalem endureth for ever The Others Jerusalem endureth for ever. The Voice of Jeremiah [From the darkness] Awaken, doomed dty, that thou mayest save thyself. Awaken from your heavy slumbers, heedless ones, lest you be slain in sleep; awaken, for the walls are crumbling, and will crush you; awaken, for Ashur's sword is brandished over your heads. Zedekiah [On the alert] Who speaks? Who speaks?. Voices Who speaks? WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 123 The Voice of Jeremiah The anger of the Lord hath fallen upon the dis- turbers of the peace. God hath sent the king of the north against Israel, to break her towers, and her pride. Awaken that ye may fleej awaken that ye may save yourselves J for he has come, the slayer of your sons, the ravisher of ypur daughters, he who will lay your/ fields waste. Awaken, awaken! Zedekiah [Shrinking with alarm, and then recovering him- self] Who speaks? First Sentry A madman. Lord; he is moonstruck. Voices Close his mouth. — ^Away with him. — ^He is mad. Zedekiah Nay, bring him hither. I wish to see him. I wish to see that he who spoke was a living man. Terrible was the sound of his voice. It seemed to me as if the stones of Jerusalem were uttering lamentations, as if the words issued from the very walls. [ The two sentries hasten away into the darkness] Abimelech Suffer not thyself to be misled, Lord. Many in the dty have been bought with Chaldean gold. 124 JEREMIAH Others Heed him not. — ^Hurl him from the wall. — ^Hold no converse with a coward. [Jeremiah and Baruch are brought into the light by the sentries, and Jeremiah is thrust forward to the king] Second Sentry This is he who spoke the words of shame. He was railing in like fashion, Lord, just before thou earnest* Zedekiah There has been talk of one going up and down the city and foretelling disaster to the people. Is this the man? Voices It is he. — ^Jeremiah. — Curses light on him. — ^He foretells disaster. — Poisons men's hearts. — ^Bears false witness. Baruch Nay, he is God's messenger and utters words of truth. I testify for him. Voices Who are you to testify? — ^You are no more than a boy. — Heed him not. — Such vipers should be crushed. Zedekiah Silence. Take the young man away, for I need no testimony. WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 125 [Baruch is pushed back into the shadows^ Draw nearer, Jeremiah. Art thou he who leadest Israel astray? Jeremiah Israel is verily astray, but not by my leadership. Zedekiah I know thy voice. My heart tells me that I have heard thee speak, but never before have I seen thy face. Was it thou who criedst aloud for peace at the portal of the palace? Jeremiah Yea, Lord, it was I. Zedekiah Many voices assailed my ears in that hour, but when I had retiuned home at nightfall and lay sleepless on my couch, it was thy call which dinned in my ears. Jeremiah God^s will was that thou shouldst hearken. Woe xmto thee that thou heardest not. Had it been otherwise there would be sleep on thy lids and peace in Israel. Abimelech [To Jeremiah] What make you here on the wall at night? Would you go over to the Chaldeans? [To the inng\ Have him seized, for his behavior is sus- picious. 126 JEREMIAH A Voice His mother is on her deathbed, for his words have broken her heart. But he shuns the house, comes here by night, and would parley with the enemy. Jeremiah [In alarm] My mother is dying? Voices He is a traitor. — ^Heed him not. — Cast him into prison. Zedekjah Be ^lent, all. My soul is not so weak that I can be swayed by the words of chatterers. Fear not, Jeremiah, I heard thy voice on the day when we decided upon war. It resounded in my heart, for a word of peace is the word of God. But the past is past. . War now rages between Ashur and Israel. Words no longer avail. I cannot stop the war at will. Jeremiah Nay, Lord, but thou canst. Zedekjah [WrafAfMlly] How, tell me how? Dost thou not see the foe encompassing the walls? Dost thou not hear the spears clashing? What can I do to stq> the war? WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 127 Jeremiah The issue is in thy hands, for thou art the king. Zedekiah It is too late to talk of peace. Jeremiah It is never too late to talk of peace. Zedekiah [Still more angrily^ Thy words are the words of foUy. « Jeremiah The shedding of blood digs a trench between the nations. The more deeply we dig it, the harder to stop the bloodshed. Therefore let words go before the sword. Seek audience of Nebuchadnezzar j send him an envoy. Zedekiah I seek Nebuchadnezzar, my foe? Jeremiah Send envoys, while there is yet time to save Jerusalem. Zedekiah Why should I be the one to propose a parley? 128 JEREMIAH Jeremiah Blessed is he who first holds out his hand for peace. Blessed is the king who spares the blood of his people. Zedekiah What if I were to oflFer my hand, only to find the oflFer rejected? Jeremiah Blessed are they who are rejected for justice* sake, for they are men after God's heart. Zedekiah I tell thee that the very children would mock me, and the women would laugh at me in my shame. Jeremiah Better to be followed by the laughter of fools than by the tears of widows. Think not of thyself j but of the people, which God hath appointed thee to lead. Do God's will, though fools laugh. Thou hast raised thy head against Ashur. Humble thyself now before him. Zedekiah Humble myself? Jeremiah Humble thyself, anointed of the Lord, for the sake of Jerusalem. Open the gates, open thy heart, thus only canst thou save the city. WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 129. Zedekiah With the sword will I save Jerusalem, at the hazard of my life, but not of my honor. Thou knowest not what thou askest. Jeremiah Of thee I demand the hardest of duties, as is befitting for the Lord's anointed. 0£Fer up thy pride, the trcaw lu^ of thy heart, for the sake of Jerusalem. Kneel before Nebuchadnezzar, even as I kneel before thee. Open the gates, and open thy heart. Abase thyself. King Zedekiah, for it is better thou shouldst be abased than that Israel should be laid low. Zedekiah Away with thee, away! I will humble myself before no man on earth. Jeremiah [Springing impetuously to his feet] Accurst, then, be the oil with which thou wast anointed. Zion has been entrusted to thy hands, and by thy hands is Zion destroyed. Mayst thou be forgotten by God's mercy, even as thou hast forgotten Jerusalem. A curse be upon thee, murderer of Zion. Abimelech Throw him from the wall! Voices He has slandered the king. — ^Throw him from the wall. I30 JEREMIAH [Ths members of the kin^s Wain close in on Jeremiah ] Zedekiah [ Who has yielded ground as if attacked by an unseen enemy y recovering himself \ Desist! Harm him not Think ye that the curse of a fool can a£Fright me, or an impudent word \mman me? [A pause] Never- theless, the rumor is true, and this man's speech is full of danger. Like a ram do his words batter at men's hearts* No longer must such a liar speak freely to the people, endeavoring to spread dismay among our warriors. Abimelech He should be put to death. Unworthy to live is the man who has lost faith in God. Voices ' Stone the hireling. — ^He would sell the town to the Chaldeans. — ^He prays for our defeat. — Slay him. Zedekiah Shall I kill the man who slandered me, that it may be said he filled me with fear? Jeremiah, I value thy words lightly as airj but once more, for thine own sake, I ask thee the question. Does thy heart faith- fully assure thee that death hangs over Zion and over all within her walls? Speak freely. *« Jeremiah Death is over Jerusalem. Death's hand is upon us all. Naught but surrender can save us. WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 131 Zedek-iah Away then, and surrender. Save thine own life. [Jeremiah stares at him in bewilderment^ No man shall sap our powers while he eats our bread. If thou fearest for Zion, flee from Zion. I give thee thy life. Climb down the wall} seek out Nebuchad- nezzar} take shelter in his camp. If thy word be ful- filled, pu£F out thy cheeks and laugh at thy brethren who died for Jerusalem. Abimelech Too gentle, O king, in thy dealings with this slanderer. [Jeremiah struggles for speech] ZeDEK-IAH Away, renegade, away! Seek out Nebuchadnezzar, whose victory thou f oretellest. Kiss his feet. I stay in the midst of my people and in the home of my fathers, for my faith shall remain steadfast till my last breath. False are this man's words! Jerusalem cndureth for ever! The Others [Shouting] Jerusalem endureth for ever. — God's house shall never pass away. Zedekiah Haste, haste to Ashur. I give thee free permission. Leave us to our deaths}, and for thy part, crawl to safety. 132 JEREMIAH Jeremiah [Controlling himself] I will not forsake Jerusalem. Zedekiah Didst thou not even now assure us that death was hanging over Zipn? Flee, that thou at least save thy- self alive, Jeremiah Not for my own life am I filled with sorrow. It is for the life of thousands upon thousands that my heart is heavy. I will not flee. If Zion's walls fall, I will fall with them. Zedekiah I have warned thee, Jeremiah, as thou wamedst me. Henceforth thy life is in thine own charge. [To the others] Let none molest him while he keeps due measure. But should he sgaia seek to spread terror, seize and bind him, and he shall pay for it with his life. [To Jeremiah] Guard thyself, place a seal on thy lips, lest thy life atone for speech. May God spare us, as I have spared thee to-day. Jeremiah f ^ fotiofiUss, his voice unsteady] Not myself would I guanl, but Jerusalem. Zedekiah [RetHrffiftg to the outer edge of the wdl] Still they come! Still they come! The noise of their WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 133 chariot wheels and the trampling of their chargers are like the growling of a storm. Terrible indeed is the king of the north. Dreadful will it be to encounter him. God save Jerusalem! [Breathes deeply] God save Jerusalem.. [Zekediah (urns away, and slowly resumes the roundy plunged in thought. He is followed by Abimelech and the other members of the train. The two sentries move after them out of sight] Baruch [Rushing forward from the shadow] Quick, quick! Hasten after him. The spirit of God is upon you. Hasten that you may compel him. Jeremiah [Awakening as from a trance] Compel whom? Baruch The king* Let your words be like flame. Save Jerusalem^ Jeremiah The king? [He looks round horror-stricken upon the deserted wall] Lost, lost the sacred hour. My hasty tongue has ruined all. Baruch Try once again and you will overcome him. Already he was yielding. 134 JEREMIAH Jeremiah Too late, too late. Why did God choose a weakling?. Why did he put words of gall into my mouth? Baruch Do not torment yourself, master. Your sufferings confuse your mind. Jeremiah Think you so? But I have failed. To whom have I brought joy? I am a horror to the upright and a grievous affliction to my mother. No wife bears my child in her womb, nor does any one living believe in my words. Baruch I believe you. I will not forsake you. You are great. I cleave to you for your very sorrow. Jeremiah Praise me not. My soul bums with shame. What have I done that shall profit Jerusalem? Have I softened the king's heart j have I led the erring people into the right path} have I found an envoy of peace? How, when I myself have faltered, shall I show the way for an envoy? Baruch from Nebuchadni king? WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS 135 Jeremiah Will Nebuchadnezzar be readier to parley than Zede- kiah? Kings are like boys, each waiting for the other to begin. Baruch [Ardenfly] Jeremiah, your words bear fruit in my soul. Jeremiah What mean you? Baruch This deed is for me. Well know I that the road . leads through the valley of the shadow, even as yours. / But I will walk it for the sake of Jerusalem. Master, < farewell. Jeremiah Whither will you go?. Baruch Farewell, master. Your blessing should I succeed. Spare me your curse should I fail. For Jerusalem! [He begins to climb down the wall] Jeremiah But Baruch, whither are you going? Baruch By your road. Farewell. [He disaffears over the parapet] 136 JEREMIAH Jeremiah [Leaning forward] Whither, Baruch, whither? Stay, they will seize you. Already the spies of Chaldea blodc every road. Baruch, stand by me in this hour. Baruch, Baruch! First Sentry [Runrnng in] Who calls there in the night? What is afoot? Jeremiah [Standing up] I call, I call} but no one heeds me. First Sentry Still you, is it? What are you doing here? I thought I saw a shadow pass down the walL Are you alone? Jeremiah I am alone ! I am alone ! [Slowly, vcith heavy steps, Jeremiah passes towards the town. The sentry stares after him until he is swal- lowed up in the gloom. Then the soldier resumes his march to and fro in the n%oonlight. Nothing is heard save his footsteps on the flagstones, until from a distance the challenge: ^^Samson guard us'', '^Samson guard us", begins to pass once more round the walls] THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL SCENE FIVE Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief. Isaiah LIII, 10. SCENE FIVE The small bed-chamber where Jeremiah's Mother lies ill. Doorways and windows are covered with cur- tains to exclude light and sound. The interior is so dark that the figures of those in the chamber are barely visible. The white bed-furniture is conspicuous in the gloom. Close to the bed stands Ahab, the elderly servingman. JOCHEBED [A female relative^ coming from without^ cautionsly draws aside the curtain over the doorway] Ahab! Ahab Speak low! Tread softly! Her sleep is light as thistle-down. A breath will scatter it. JoCHEBED Well for one who can still sleep, when the gates of the dty are being assailed. Ahab Not a word of the matter. Not a word of the enemy. As you love her, spare her. JoCHEBED What do you mean? What must I not speak of? 141 142 JEREMIAH Ahab Not a word of our troubles. She knows naught of Jerusalem's evil plight JOCHEBED I don't understand. She does not know that the town is besieged? Ahab Why should we tell her what is impending? The very thought would kill her. JoCHEBED [Greatly astonished] She does not know that Ashur is upon us? Is there still a living being within the walls who remains ignorant of our misery? How has this miracle been wrought? Are her senses closed? Is she deaf to the hosannas? Does she think we are at peace when the battering rams thunder against the walls? Ahab Her senses are dulled. Such noises as she hears seem the noises of a dream. I have closed the entries, shutting out sound and light. JoCHEBED She knows nothing? Wonderful, and yet horrible. Has she no suspicion? THE PROPHEPS ORDEAL 143 Ahab At times she has suspected, but I have been able to calm her fears. Yesterday, when the first rams were at woric, she was alarmed by the cries of the populace. Throwing oflF the coverlet, she wrung her hands, and declared she must forth to the walls, that war had come, that the enemy was in the dty, that Zion was perishing. Her son's prophecy was being fulfilled, the king of the north had come. She struggled to her feet. Then her knees gave way beneath her. I caught her as she fell, bore her back to bed, and persuaded her that it was all a dream, that the shouting and the hosannas were but the illusion of fever. She seemed to believe me, lying with open eyes, and listening to the muffled clamor from the street. JOCHEBED Has wondrous strange. But what has thus confused her? Ahab In her sidmess she craves for her son. JoCHEBED Jeremiah, the madman! The zealot of the streets. She herself drove him from the house. Ahab Not for an hoiu* since has she known happiness. She sat ever in silence, or stood at the door like one await- ing a guest. When he failed to return, her mind fitaduallv became confused. 144 JEREMIAH JOCHEBED Why then comes he not, the reprobate, that he may restore her to health? He tramps the streets spewing curses among the people, while his mother is dying for lack of him. Why comes he not, chatterer in the market, slayer of peace? Ahab He knows naught of her longing. No less proud is he than she, and he will never cross the threshold until he is summoned. JoCHEBED Summon him then. Ahab How dare I without her command? I am but a servingman. How can I act upon words which she mutters unwitting? JoCHEBED You may and you must, since her life is at stake. Ahab Do you believe I should do rightly to sununon Jeremiah without awaiting her command? JoCHEBED By God^s mercy I believe it. Thus will you save her alive. THE PROPHEPS ORDEAL 145 Ahab God be praised^ Jochebed. In my sore need I have already done what you wish. Jochebed A blessing on you therefor! Ahab I have sent my boys seeking him. Jochebed If they can but find him. Lacking him, she will die of mingled pride and longing. Ahab Truly, since she drove him forth, she has been unceasingly at war with herself. Jochebed Who is at peace in this stormy time?. [The mother wakens with a Agh^ Jochebed [Speaking softly to Ahab] Ahab, she stirs, she is waking. Her eyes are still closed, but her lips move as if to speak. [Ahab ietuls over the sick tootnan] 146 JEREMIAH The Mother [Speaks with closed eyeSy the tones of her voice like those of a song heard in the distance] Has he come? Is he here? Where is he, the son of my sorrow? JOCHEBED [Whispering] How wonderful! For the first time she speaks of him plainly. Ahab Nay, she is still dreaming. The Mother [Moves and opens her eyes] Are you there, Ahab? Is that you Jochebed? My dreams are dark and uneasy. Ahab [Tenderh] How do you feel? Have you slept well? The Mother How can I sleep well, when my dreams are so dreadful? Where is her I saw him. Why did he go away? Ahab Whom do you mean? The Mother Why did he go away? Why did you let him go away? THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL 147 Ahab There has been no one in the room but Jochebed and me. The Mother Not he? Not he? The house is haunted with dreams. [She sits up suddenly in bedy glancing round vAth feverish anxiety] Why do you not summon him? Ahab Sunmion whom? The Mother How can you ask? Can you not see that death's hand is upon me? Yet you will not send for him. Ahab How should I dare . . . The Mother Alas, that I should be immured here, too ill to move, tended by blind servants with hearts of stone. Away, away. Ahab But mistress . . . The Mother You have betrayed me. You have forbidden him the house. I know he must have come, and you have 148: JEREMIAH barred the doon He has been here. My instinct tells me. He waits but the summons, and you will not send. You have denied him entry. Ahab Hearicen, mistress . . . The Mother Woe is me! Away! May you die as I am dying, abandoned by your children; may you die in the straw like an outcast Ahab Let me say a word . . . The MoTHEk One word only will I listen to, that he is coming, that he is here. Ahab That is what I would fain tell you. He is coming. His footsteps draw nigh. The Mother [Rapturously] He is coming, my Jeremiah? De- ceive me not, Ahab. Cheat not a dying woman. a JOCHEBED Ahab has already sent his sons to seek out Jeremiah. THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL 149 The Mother He is coming. Is it true? Yes, I hear him. I hear his footfall. I hear him in the house. He knocks at the door, knocks within my heart. Hasten, man, hasten. Why do you tarry to admit him? Ahab [Endeavoring to calm her] Mistress, he will be here anon. Early this morning did I send my boys. The Mother [In excitement once more] Nay, he will not come. Your lads are slothful, and are idling in the streets. Would they but hasten. The darkness gains on me. If I could but see him ere I sink into it. Run, Ahab, he may be at the door. Ahab Have patience, you will do yourself a harm. The Mother Why do you not let him in? Can you not hear how he is hammering at the door? I feel it in my temples. Open to him, open. Ahab Not yet is he here, but he will come ere long. Jochebed He will soon be here. Have patience a while. 150 JEREMIAH The Mother No, no J he is there, but you are keeping him from me. My time is short. My limbs are cold . . . [Jeremiah comes quietly into the dox)rv)ay, and remains standing in doubt ^ his hands clenched^ his head bowed as if he were carrying a heavy burden] Ahab Don't throw yourself about so. He will be here anon. [Catching sight of Jeremiah, he starts and stofs speaking. Jochebed likewise preserves an anxious silence. For a few moments no one speaks in the darkened room] The Mother [Raising herself with difficulty] Why are you both silent? [She suddenly gives a cry of joy] Has he come? Is my Jeremiah here? Where are you, Jeremiah? [Hesitatingly y Jeremiah moves forward a few steps. Hey tooy is a prey to strong emotion] The Mother [Stretching out her arms towards him] You are there, I feel it. Would that I could see you clearly. Why come you not close, that I may touch you? Jeremiah [Not movingy his hands still clenched] I dare not, I dare not. Disaster dogs my footsteps. Curses go harm THE PROPHETS ORDEAL 151 , Let me stand thus apart, lest my breath lest it strike terror to vour soul. The Mother [Feverishly] My child, my arms crave for you. Come close, dear, come close. Are my lips so hateful to you? Is my hand so estranged? Jeremiah I am estranged from myself, and a stranger in this house. The Mother Alas, he repels me, will leave me once more. What makes you so cold, so hard-hearted? Jeremiah A word bums between us like the sword of the angel of God. The Mother The curse, for which I have cursed myself a thou- sand times? Idle breath was it, and the wind has blown it away. Jeremiah Nay, Mother, the curse stands, and all the streets are filled with it. It rebounds from the wall of every house, attacks me from all men's mouths. No longer am I yoiu" son, no longer living flesh, but the mock of the world, an outcast from my people, hated by the righteous, forgotten by God, loathed by myself. To 152 JEREMIAH myself leave me. Let me remain in the datkness, most accurst of all men. The Mother: My child, were you indeed the rejected of all men, banned by the priests, outlawed by the people; had God himself thrust you away from the light of his countenance J still were you my son, blood of my blood for evermore. I will love you for their hatred, and bless you for their curse. If they have spit upon you, come that I may kiss youj if they have cast you out, come that I may take you in; home, come home to my heart. Sweet to me is the bitterness of your lips, sweet the salt of yoiu- tears; blessed is all that you do; if only you return to my mother's heart. Jeremiah [Falling to his knees with a groan] Mother, spirit of eternal kindness. Mother, you give me back my lost world. [ The mother folds him in her arms, and clasps him without speaking for a time. Tremblingly she strokes his head and his body again and again. At length, as she looks at him, a strange glow of happiness lights up her face, and she speaks to him in a plaintive chant] The Mother Child of my heart, whom the world thrusts aloof. Had you but stayed with me, ne'er left my roof! Home now returning, find peace in my arms, They hold you once more, son, safe from all harms. THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL 1 53 Tranquilly qadled, unscathed shall you bide. Keeping the house, no more ranging wide. Tenderly stroking your brow and your hair, I will set your heart free from all sorrow and care, And the curse which I spoke on that ill-omened day, Lo^ with my hands I have brushed it away! Jeremiah [Awestruck] Oh Mother, how thin your hands have become} Oh Mother, how wan your cheeks have become. Your heart is scarce beating} your lips are so pale. How can I help you? Can nothing avail? The Mother: My days have been lonely, my nights have been dreary. When you did not return, I grew heart-sick and weary. Your absence was killing me. Now you are back, Your coming suffices. Naught more do I lade Jeremiah Through the streets did I wander, my heart turned to stone. Your forgiveness now craving, I fain would atone. The Mother Nightly I dreamed your dreams. As I lay in the empty house. 154 JEREMIAH Alone and forsaken. By day they lurked in the shadows; But as night fell, Stealing forth from dark comers, Like toads, bats, and owls. They crawled and flittered round my temples. Filling my soul with horror. Rending and gnawing. Devouring sleep. Like vampires did they sap my strength, So that the dawning of day Found me hag-ridden. Shattered and broken. Jeremiah, I adjure you. Leave me not again. Jeremiah, I implore you, Stay with me, stay with me. For the time is short. Jeremiah Mother, what mean you? The Mother Seek not to deceive me. Think you I know not That death draws near? Even as on a dial The shadow rises Stage by stage up the wall While the sun sinks in the west. So, with every breath I draw. Does darkness rise within me. THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL i ss Woe is me that, still living and aware, I feel the grip of death's cold hand. Jeremiah Nay, Mother, God's purpose with us is plain. How can you think he will part us anew? No more am I f roward. Your child once again, I am sent back by him for a fresh life with yoiu Were it otherwise, say to me why should I be Unclouded by visions, from dreaming set free? The Mother Do you dream no longer? Jeremiah My sleep is dreamless j my slumber is mute. The night-time faces trouble me no more. My dreams have become daylight realities. Revealed in full horror, they stalk 'neath the sun. I dream no longer, now the world's awake. The Mother [EcsUUically, for she has heeded only the first fart of Jeremiah's sfeech^ Your dreaming is over? Then joy comes again. Indeed, I was certain That God in his mercy Would scatter the darkness That clouded your brain. Recall but my words 156 JEREMIAH When we parted in pain: Ne'er shall an enemy drde our wall, David's dty be taken, Jerusalem f alL Though foes from the ends of the earth should rage, The towering battlements ever shall stand. Firm Israel's heart, and mighty her hand. Eternal the days of Jerusalem. Jeremiah [Rises from his knees. He sisres bUnkly ms he mutters in smsze] Ne'er shall . • • an enemy . . . drde . . . our wall? The Mother What sudden fear assails your soul? What thought steals color from your dietki Jeremiah [Still shmdJering] Ne'er shall . . . an enemy . . .. drde . . . our wall? The Mother Jeremiah, What has befallen vou? What has frightened you? What has taken )*ou abad:? And )x>u, Ahab and Jodiebed, Why are ^'ou making signs to him? Jeremiah, I ooniure you. Tell me what b amtss. THE PROPHErS ORDEAL 1 57 Jeremiah There is nothing wrong, Mother, nothing at all. I was but mazed for a moment, Startled out of myself by your words. The Mother: Nay, nay, it is false. Yoiu* faces, of a sudden, grew dark and careworn; Now you all turn away, exchange glances, and whisper. Awesome, indeed, must be the secret you hide. It chills me like death; Like God's wrath it affrights me. Jeremiah [Stammering] Nothing, Mother, we are hiding nothing. The Mother Why seek to deceive me? Why hoodwink my eyes? Not yet am I dead, nor in coffin enclosed. Life's breath in my lungs, Life's pulse at my heart, I can hear, I can speak; Why then hide ye the truth? Jeremiah Mother, you are distraught with fever. Your temples are burning, yoiu* hands are cold. 158 JEREMIAH The Mother Why arc doors and windows curtained so close? Why is all so dark and still? You stifle me in wrappings. Bury me in cushions, Me, who am yet alive. Tell me, tell me why. Jeremiah Mother, calm yourself. Take my hands. I am here beside you. The Mother I live, I live J I say to you that I live. No longer shall you deceive me. I^earf ul is my awakening. Too well do I know the truth. That my dreams were not dreams but realities. Again and again did I hear The rolling of the chariots. The trampling of the chargers. The clashing of the weapons. The singing of the hosannas. Muffled were the sounds, As they reached me in this darkened room} And I fancied all was a dream. Yet now I am awake. Horribly awake. Death has forced open my lids. I know Why you have shut away light and sound. Disaster assails the dty, has entered the gates. THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL 159 We are be^eged, we are lost Woe is me, there is war in Israeli, Jeremiah Mother, Mother! The Mother Jeremiah, speakl. Tell me. Is he come. He whose advent you foretold, The king of kings from the north? Jeremiah Mother, you are dreaming. JOCHEBED [Whispering] Lie to her! For her life's sake, lie to her! The Mother [In delirium] Alas, hear the trumpets Soimding the onslaught! He comes in his panoply. The king from the north. War is upon us. They swarm to attadc. The ramparts are crumbling. The gates broken down. The dty is lost. The temple destroyed. I am crushed in the ruins. i6o JEREMIAH I bum in my bed. Save me, oh save me, Jeremiah, save me, Carry me forth! Jeremiah [Kneels beside her] Mother, an evil fancy Enthrals your mind. Mother, heari^en. The Mother I hold your hands. Swear to me, swear, That it is not true. Swear to me, swear. That no danger threatens Israel. Swear to me, swear. That no enemy shall disturb my last rest. That my burial place shall be Zion. Jeremiah So shall it be. God will be gracious to us in death as in life. The Mother Jeremiah, Do I wander in mind? Is the foe at the gates? Or IS our world filled with peace? [Jeremiah struggles vainly for words] THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL i6i Ahab [Breaking in on his hesitation] Deceive her, speak ere she passes. Can you not see How the darkness shadows her face, As the angel of death hovers nigh? Speak, and chase the terror from her soul. JOCHEBED Speak, or it will be too late. A word, only one word. So that she may die in peace. Jeremiah [Still struggling with contending fassions] I cannot, I cannot. There is one grips my throat. Holds my soul in his grasp.* The Mother He is silent. It must then be true That God has smitten his own people: May the day perish wherein I was bom! Alas, the darkness gains on me. Fire ravages the land. I bum. Bear me forth. Ahab [Interrupting, to Jeremiah] A word, only one word. i62 JEREMIAH Jeremiah [Choking, as if strangled] No such word can I uttefn God's hand grips my throat j God's hand grasps my soul. Ah, cruel one, free me . . . The Mother [With a wild cry] Lost, all is lost. I bum. The city . . . the temple . . . God falls. God has fallen! The flames of Gehenna strike home to my heart. Jerusalem! [She collapses suddenly. There is silence] [ Ahab and Jochebed move in alarm to the tedside and bend over the dead woman] Jeremiah [His voice bursting forth as when a fountain is unsealed] It is false! I lied, I lied! Eternal the days of Jerusalem. Ne'er shall an enemy circle our wall, David's city be taken, Jerusalem fall. Mother, once again give ear. 1 swear it, look you, I solemnly swear, Eternal the days of Jerusalem! Ahab [Fiercely] Away! THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL 163 Your oaths will not waken her! Leave her in peace! Jeremiah She must hear me before 'tis too late. Ahab [BiUerly] As you say, 'tis too late. Away from the room. Your cries will not waken her, Nor your lies break her sleep. While she lived you were silent. Unfeeling as stone. Idle dreamer and outcast. Hence, get you begone! JOCHEBED Away, rejected of men. Scorn of the just. Away from the house. Why, ah why. Did she readmit you? Away, xnan accurst. Break not the calm Of the death which you wrought. Jeremiah [Overwhelmed] Ever accursfed. Ever rejected. i64 JEREMIAH Thrust forth from home. Unfriended to roam. God, God, it is hard to bear men thy word! [Ahab and Jochebed fay the last duties to the dead^ pressing down the eyelids^ and wrapping the body in a shroud. Ahab goes to the pitchers and sprinkles water on the ground. No sound but their solemn paces can be heard. Jeremiah stares before him in stupor. Silence prevails for a time, full of the mys^ tery of death. Then a clamor is heard without. There is a vehement knocking at the door] Ahab Who knodcs? Jochebed There is a turbiilent crowd without, Ahab They assail the door as if they were enemies. You had better open. Jochebed Hark to the savages, they have burst in the door. [The sound of splintering wood is heard. Then hasty footsteps. Zebulon, Pashur, Hananiah, the First Sentry, and many others, rush in\ Zebulon He must He here. A Boy I saw him go in. THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL 165 Voices So did I. — ^He slipped in an hour bade — I was on watch as you ordered. — I saw him too. Ahab Whom do you seek? Pashur DeUver him up— the man you are hiding. Zebulon We will have blood for blood. Ahab What mean ye by breaking in here? Away, rabble. Pashur [Catching sight of the corpse^ raises his hands and sfeaks reverently^ Praise to the eternal judge. May he be merciful to the just. [Turning away he f asses into the background] The Others [Suddenly stilled, murmur] Praise to the eternal judge. One Speaks [Gently] Who has died? Ahab One from whom God had hidden the light of his countenance. One full of sorrows, and acquainted i66 JEREMIAH with grief. One whose bitterest affiction was that she gave birth to the enemy of her nation. Another Speaks Jeremiah!. Zebulon It is Jeremiah whom we seek. Where is Jeremiah? Jeremiah [Comes forward^ speaking loudly in grief and indignation] Who seeks Jeremiah? Who still desires to rain curses on me? Let him come, let him curse. I am the marie for all the curses in the wodcL Zebulon It is I, wretch, who come to curse you, I, Zebulon, father of Baruch, whom you have led astray. Where is my son? Jeremiah [Tonelessly] How should I know? Am I your son's keeper? Hananiah This man makes a charge agdnst you. Answer, Jeremiah. Jeremiah He, too, makes a charge. Should I begin to bring charges I should speak from now till midnight "^ THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL 167 Voices m He answers not. — ^He talks at random, evading the charge. — ^Pashur, Hananiah, make an end. — ^Pass judgment upon him. Hananiah Have you brought witnesses, Zebulon? Zebulon My son has vanished from the town. He has been continually with Jeremiah. On the ramparts, last night, this man heard Jeremiah inciting Baruch to desert to the enemy. EL/VNANIAH [To the First Sentry] Do you bear this witness? First Sentry Verily, prophet, while I stood on guard, there came two men. One was Jeremiah, well known to me. The other was young, little more than a boy, with black hair and flashing eyes. Zebulon It was Baruch my son, whom this man hath corrupted. First Sentry There was much talk between them. Jeremiah prophesied disaster, so that my heart grew hot within me. 1 68 JEREMIAH Hananiah [To the others] Do you hear? He prophesied the fall of Zion. First Sentry When the king had gone, and Jeremiah and the other were alone, then the other, he whom you name Baruch, climbed down the wall and deserted to the enemy, leaving Jeremiah on the ramparts. Zebulon Do you hear, men of Israel? I charge Jerenuah with leading my son astray, with bringing shame upon my house. Pashur [Advancing to the front] Your answer, Jeremiah. What say you to this charge? [Jeremiah is silent] Do you call witnesses? Jeremiah [In low tones] The one who would testify for me must not be named. Pashur Will he come forward in due time? [Jeremiah is silent] Voices Make an end, make an end. THE PROPHEPS ORDEAL 169 Pashur Silence. I will hold just judgment! Jeremiah, I cite you to answer. [Jeremiah is silent] You are charged with having, in defiance of the king's com- mand, foretold disaster. [Jeremiah is silent] EL/VNANIAH Do you deny your words? [Jeremiah still holds his peace] Lo, the fear of death has moved him at length. For the first time he is silent. Jeremiah You who have misled Israel, would you tempt me to say No when God says Yes, and Yes when God says No? More strongly hath he tempted me to depart from his ways, yet would I not depart from them. He raised up one against me whose breath was dearer to me than the breath of my own life, but I would not yield to her, for the Lord cuts from the tree of life him whom he hath chosen for a scourge. Go, and leave me in peace. Zebulon I will not go. He has destroyed my son. I demand judgment. Pashur Twice have I charged you to speak. You have spoken when you should have been silent; now you are silent when you should speak. For the third time I I70 JEREMIAH dte you. [Jeremiah is silenf] Hear then my judgment. No longer shall you seek to daunt the courageous, no longer shall you lead youth astray, Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah m Israel. Jeremiah Make short work! Wither me no longer with your glances. Enough, enough. Pashur You shall be lowered into a pit, that you may no longer be an oflFence to God's daylight, nor your voice an affliction to the city. May you perish, and your words with you, in the darkness of the earth. Jeremiah Blessed darkness. Pashur Lay hands on him. Execute judgment! Voices Oh, just judgment! — Great is the wisdom of Pashur. — ^Away with Jeremiah. — ^Fetch a rope, that wc may lower him into the pit. THE PROPHET'S ORDEAL 171 Jeremiah [Shrinking from fheir touch] Touch me not. Bet- ter, far better is darkness, for the hour is at hand in Israel when the living will envy the dead, and when those that wake will envy the sleepers. My heart yearns for silence; my soul is consumed with longing that I may become brother to the dead. Make way, I will bury myself, that I may deliver myself from the world, and Israel of my presence. [He folds his arms and moves towards the doorway. The others begin to follow him hesitatingly] Hananiah [Bursting in on the silence with an exultant cry] Rejoice, Zion, for broken is the song of thy destruction, rent are the lips of thy slanderer. Rejoice, Zion, for eternal is thy springtime. Jerusalem endureth for ever! [Jeremiah turr^ fiercely^ raising his arms as if about to rebuke Hananiah. His eyes flash fire. Those at his heels draw back in alarm, as from a wild beast at bay. But Jeremiah controls himself. His arms sink to his sides, and the fierce expression vanishes from his countenance. With a last look at the dead form of his mother, he regains composure. Covering his face, he walks forth alone, like one carrying a heavy burden. The rest follow in disorder. Last of all walks Pashur, deep in thought. Ahab and Jochebed are left, looking at one another uneasily. Ahab takes a linen sheet and spreads it reverently over the body] •^ VOICES IN THE NIGHT SCENE SIX Evening cometh and the shadows lengthen. Jerb- J MiAH, VI, 4. y^ SCENE SIX Kino Zedekjah's bed-chamber^ large and stately. It is dimly lighted, so that details are scarcely visible. What light there is comes from a lamp hanging in a golden bowl, and from the soft moonbeams which stream in through the casement. This is widely open and commands a view of the town. In the fore^ ground stands a large table surrounded by broad seats. The curtained bed occupies the center of the back- ground. Zedekiah is standing motionless at the window, looking down on the moonlit city. Joab, a young spearman, enters, and stands respectfully wait- ing for the king to notice him. Zedekiah pays no heed, but continues to gaze out of the window. The Lad [After a pause ventures to speak] My Lord King! [Zedekiah turns with a start] It is midnight^ O King. This is the hour at which thou orderedst me to summon the council. Zedekiah Are they all here? The Ladi All, at thy command. 177 178 JEREMIAH ZEDEK.IAH Have they come unseen by the people and by the palace servants? The Lad Unseen, Lord King. By secret ways I led them hither. ZEDEK.IAH Where is the spy? Hast thou kept him apart? The Lad He tarries with the dooriceepers.. Zedek.iah Let him tarry. Summon the council. [The Lad iows, and disafpears through the doorway^ Zedeuah [Strides to and jroy and then returns to the window. He soliloquizes] Never have I seen the stars shine so brightly. They stand confusedly in rows, like letters on the dark background of heaven, a writing which no man can read. In Babylon, they say, are interpreters and priests who serve the stars, conversing with them by night. Other kings can talk with their gods; they have shrines on their towers where they can learn the will of heaven when their hearts are troubled. Why have I no soothsayers who can tell the future? It is terrible to be the servant of a god who is always silent; whom no one has ever seen! [A pause while he con- VOICES IN THE NIGHT 179 temflates the dfy] They are all asleep, those over whom I rule; they rest beside their wives or beside their weapons; in me is centered their need and their wakefulness. I must counsel others, but who shall counsel me? I must lead others, but who shall lead me? I am exalted over others, but over me is exalted one whom I cannot see. Below is sleep; above is silence. [The Lad draws aside the curtain; and the jive councilors enter noiselessly. . They are Pashur, the high priest; Hananiah, the prophet; Imre, the oldest burgher; Abimelech, the general; Nahum, the steward. Zedekiah turns to receive them. They bow\ Zedekiah I summoned you by night that our talk might be private. I demand from you a pledge of secrecy. Lay your hands within the priest's hands; he will answer for you to the Most High. [Silently they raise their hands in adjuration, and each in turn lays his hand in Pashur's] I swear by Almighty God that I will show no anger against any who opposes me. [He lays his hand in Pashur's] Now let us take counsel. [He waves them towards the table, and all take their seats] We are in the eleventh month of the siege. The vines are green once more. Nebuchad- nezzar has been imable to take Jerusalem, but we on our part have not been able to force him to raise the siege. His sword against us beats the water, but so likewise does ours beat the water against him. We have left nothing undone that might bring aid. I have sent envoys to the king of the Medes; I have sent to the princes of the east, asking their help against Ashur. The missions were fruitless. We stand alone. i80 JEREMIAH Hananiah [Fiercely] God is on our side. [The others say nothing] ZEDEK.IAH [Quietly] God is on our side. He has set up his tabernacle upon this hill, and my own roof stands in the shadow of his holy house. But God sends trials upon his own people. Those who swore faith to us, betrayed usj the Egyptians abandoned us; we are alone. Let us take counsel together, how to fight out our quarrel with Nebuchadnezzar, or whether we can find a means to end it. ELVNANIAH Let us pray to God for a miracle. Let our hearts overflow with prayer, our altars smoke with sacrifices. What we have done once hitherto, let us now do twice over. Nahum There is nothing left to sacrifice, neither bulls nor rams. EL/VNANIAH It is false. I have heard the lowing of the cattle which you refuse to deliver up to the sacrifice. Nahum The last we have. They are milch cows to provide food for nursing mothers and the sick. VOICES IN THE NIGHT 1 8 1 Hananiah Such thrift is impious where God is concerned. Let the sick starve and the breasts of the women run dry, so long as God receives due meed of sacrifice. . Fashur [Eartiestly] God requires no gifts to make him aware of our distresses. Hananiah Naught is sweeter to the Lord than the gifts of the needy. We should give to the uttermost, tearing the morsels from our 'own mouths. Pashur I know the customs. It is not for you, Hananiah, to teach me my duty, which I know better perchance than you know God's word and God's will. Hananiah Who sacrifices grudgingly, who sacrifices with a cold heart, is but a slaughterman, and no true servant of the Lord. Lo, I say unto you unless ye give of your uttermost need, ye are unworthy to stand in the light of his countenance. Zedekiah [Passionately] Hold your peace. Your words are i82 JEREMIAH past bearing. But a few grains of sand have run through the hour glass, and already you rail against one another. We do not meet to discuss what it is fitting we should render unto God. We meet to con- sider our pressing need, and how we can relieve it. We are in the throes of war, and to you therefore I tiu-n first for counsel, Abimelech, general of my army. Abimelech Stout are the walls of Jerusalem, O King, but stouter still is my heart. Zedekiah • And your men, old stalwart j are they, too, stout- hearted? Rarely do I hear them raise exultant cries. When I pass among them, no longer do they strike their shields. They timi away their faces. Abimelech War makes men silent, but it steels their hearts. No longer, indeed, do they shout with delight, for that they can use their swords freely. Custom stales all joys. But they watch and wait; strong as brass are they, guarding the walls of Jerusalem. Zedekiah But what if the moons still wax and wane; what if the second year of the siege begins? There is no help coming from outside. VOICES IN THE NIGHT 1 83 Abimelech The siege will last as long as God pleases, and we shall last as long as the siege. Zedeuah May the Lord fulfil thy words. [To the others] Are ye all of the same opinion? Fashur We must be steadfast, enduring patiently until the end. Zedeuah What sayest thou, Hananiah? Hananiah Never shall Nebuchadnezzar overthrow us. Woe unto all faint-hearts. Did it rest with me, I would put them to the sword. Imre Mine eyes are dim ^th age, but being old, I saw the days when Senaccherib was arrayed against Israel, and I saw his men lying dead in heaps around our walls. Never were the jackals so fat as in the year when Jerusalem was encircled by the enenues of the Lord. The same may happen again to those who now besiege us. Let mine eyes not be wholly darkened ere this day dawn. Jerusalem endureth for ever! 1 84 JEREMIAH Abimelech, Hananiah, Pashur Jerusalem endureth for ever! [A pause] Zedekiah Thou sayest nothing, Nahunu Wherefore art thou silent? Nahum Gloomy are my thoughts, Lord King, and bitter will be my speech. He thrusts not himself forward, to whom joy is lacking. Zedekiah I summoned you in council, one and all. Welcome is the bearer of good tidings, but no less welcome he who brings wise warnings. Speak freely. Nahum Shortly before you called me to the council, I was visiting the storehouses, and having the grain measured, bushel by bushel. They were full when the siege began, but now they are almost empty. No longer can we provide a whole loaf for the day's ration. [All sit in dismayed silence] Zedekiah Was there not ample provision of grain from the villages? Was not an abundance of milch cows and other beasts driven within the walls? V VOICES IN THE NIGHT 185 Nahum Forget not that the siege has lasted nearly a year, and that there are many mouths to feed. Zedekiah [Affer another paused We can reduce the rations yet further. Let nothing be wasted. Nahum Long have we been careful to avoid waste. Yet the storehouses gape with emptiness. Time is a mighty eater. Zedekiah How long, then, thinkest thou, ere famine is upon us? Nahum \In low tones] Three weeks. Lord. No more. [A pause] Zedekiah Three weeks . . . And then? Nahum How can I answer thee, O King? God alone knows the answer. [Renewed silence] Hananiah [In great excitement] Cut the loaves in half. Cut them in three, and let that suffice for the day. Too I 1 86 JEREMIAH long have they lived riotously, they and their con- cubines} let them grow lean, now, fighting the Lord's fight. Abimelech My soldiers must not have their food cut down. No man can fight on an empty stomach. Hananiah We must all share and share alike, the soldiers as well as the others. Jerusalem is at stake. Abimelech My men must have their strength kept up. Let the useless mouths go hungry, the windbags and the prattlers. Nahum You talk folly. What would it avail to pinch our- selves unduly, seeing that there are an hundred thou- sand within the walls. There is food to last us three weeks. If we slaughter the beasts reserved for the temple, we can hold out a fortnight more. Pashur Let us keep the peace among ourselves. Ye rail against one another like enemies. Let us stand united against Nebuchadnezzar and likewise against our own people. Neither he nor they must know aught of our need. s VOICES IN THE NIGHT 187 Zedekiah What if he know it already? Nahum None can know it. Daily I set my seal on the doors of the storehouses. Neither the people nor Nebuchad- nezzar can be aware of our distress. Abimelech God be praised. Nebuchadnezzar would show us no menry if he knew. Zedekiah [After a fause] I have called you in council, elders of the people. Wars are not ended by the sword alone. I have summoned you to ask whether I should send an envoy to Nebuchadnezzar, praying him that there should be peace between our nations. Hananiah No peace with the blasphemers of the Almighty! Abimelech Let him make the first offer. Pashur I think it would be dangerous for us to begin. Should we open the parley, he would seek to make slaves of us. 1 88 JEREMIAH Zedekiah I hold other views. Though as yet he knows nothing of our desperate plight, it can remain hidden for a few days only. We must turn these days to account. Nahum True are thy words, O King. We must seek mercy of Nebuchadnezzar before he triumphs over us with the sword. Abimelech [Binerly] Sue for mercy! Death were better! Pashur We need God's mercy, not man's. Hananiah [To Nahum] Coward and traitor! Imre [Wearily] When will you cease quarreling? The king's words are true. It would be folly to wait till the last hour. Let us seek parley while we can still show a bold front. Abimelech It is too late. The dead lying before the walls will cry reproach on us. Pashur It is too late. The war has heaped up such moun- tains of hatred. VOICES IN THE NIGHT 189 Zedekiah Nay, it is not too late. [He pauses for a moment] An envoy has already passed between Nebuchadnezzar and me. [The councilors sping excitedly to their feet] Nahum Thou hast received an envoy from Nebuchadnezzar? Blessed be the hour. Hananiah Traitor! Thou holdest parley with the enemy! Abimelech No treaty without our consent! Thou hast forgotten. « Pashur Thou hast held parley, King, without consulting us? Why then are we summoned in council? Zedekiah Peace, peace. Can ye not wait till I have finished? Ye snap at my first word like a pack of hungry hounds. [A pause. He continues more quietly] A messenger has come from Nebuchadnezzar. I have not yet heard the message. Is this to hold parley? Is this treachery? Answer! [All are silent for a while] I90 JEREMIAH Fashur I crave thy pardon, King. It is hard to weigh one's words when so much hangs in the balance. Zedekiah It is for you to decide j for you to hear the envoy, or to send him away unheard. Nahum Our position is desperate. We must hear him. Imre We can listen to his message, and be cautious about accepting it. Abimelech We can hear him, and can settle afterwards whether we will let him return. He may be sent only to spy out the land. Zedekiah What say ye, Pashur and Hananiah? Pashur Let us hear him. [Hananiah is silent and averts his face] Zedekiah Since no one opposes, we will hear the message. [Going to the doorway he calls out] Joab, fetch the VOICES IN THE NIGHT 1 9 1 envoy. [Zedekiah returns to the tabled Let each ask what questions he will. But our answers must show one mind. [Baruch h ushered in by Joab. The latter fosses out again, replacing the curtain. Baruch bows before the king] Dost thou bring a message to Israel from King Nebuchadnezzar? Baruch He has sent me with a message to thee, O King. Zedekiah These are my councilors. Who speaks to me speaks to them also, for they and I, Israel and Israel's king, are at one by God's will. [Turning to the others] Question him. Hananiah [Scornfully] What grace does the king of the heathen vouchsafe . . . Abimelech [Interrupting] Let ug-amsider practical matters first! What is your name? Baruch Baruch, son of Zebulon, of the house of Naphtali. Abimelech Are you then of our blood? 192 JEREMIAH Baruch I am a servant of the one God, and was bom in Jerusalem. Abimelech Does anyone here know this man? Pashur I know his father, a just man, and a faithful servant of the Lord. Abimelech How did you fall into the enemy's hands? Baruch I was drawing water from Moria well when they seized me. Abimelech What proof have you that you are an envoy? Have you a letter, signed and sealed? Baruch Nebuchadnezzar gave me his signet ring, that I might pass the sentries going and returning. [He shows the ring on his finger.^ Abimelech I have no more questions to ask. Let him deliver his message. Baruch When the Assyrian soldiers waylaid me, they took me to the king's tent. Nebuchadnezzar has kept me VOICES IN THE NIGHT 193 under guard these eleven months. Sending for me yesterday, he said: **Wilt thou take my message to King Zedekiah?" Standing before him without fear, I answered: "I will.'' Then spake Nebuchadnezzar: "Eleven months have I laid siege to this town. I have sworn that hot again will I lie with woman until the gates of Jferusalem have been opened. But I will wait no longer. Should King Zedekiah wish for terms, let him hasten. Never has an enemy withstood me more stoutly. To none will I be more gentle than to him, should he hasten to sue for mercy.'^ Abimelech Nebuchadnezzar is a great warrior. It is an honor to have held out against him for eleven months. Baruch He said further: "If ye open the gates and humble yourselves ere the moon be full, I will grant you your lives. Every man may dwell in safety under his vine and under his fig tree. Though ye have shed our blood, I seek not yours, hat only victory and renown. It is my will that from sunrise to sunset the nations should learn the news that none can withstand my sword; that there is no king but shall bow before me, the king of kings. I need but a sign, and your dty shall be safe, your days long in the land.'' Nahum Methinks the terms are easy. 194 JEREMIAH Pashur Too easy for me to trust them. Zedekiah But the sign! What sign does Nebuchadnezzar demand? Baruch He said: '^Zedekiah, who has taken up arms against me, must abase himself. When I enter the city, let him walk to meet me, from the gates of the temple to the wall, carrying his crown in his hands, and wearing a wooden yoke on his neck . . . '' Zedekiah [Drawing himself uf] A yoke? Baruch "A yoke that all men may know his stubbornness is broken and his pride humbled. I will meet him, will lift the yoke from his neck, and replace the crown on his head." Zedekiah Never shall the man wear a crown whose nedc has borne a yoke. Never! [He rises to his feet] Abimelech I could not endure itt' [He also rises] VOICES IN THE NIGHT [ The others remain seated and silent. A^ fause, Nahum speaks meditatively] Nahum From the gates of the tenu^^ to the wall? It is barely a^^iindred paces. Imre ^tf" mon than seventy, I think, seventy. Zedekiah No more than [Turning fiercely upon them] Yo I ' eckeiii up Iht pQce& J [> am lu luke, with my nul yuktd like an cnc dra wing the plough? * Are ye all mad to think that I shall so humble myself? Did ye show courage only while your own lives were at stake? Do ye think nothing of my shame, if ye can make your own peace? Cowards all! Pashur 'thoax hast sworn, O King, that each of us should speak fr^ehcjhe words which came to his mouth. Thou dost well to remind me. Pardon my Speak freely. 196 JEREMIAH Nahum I beseech thee to accept the terms, not for our sake alone but for that of our children. Imre For the sake of our country. Fashur For temple and altar. Hananiah For God, who commands it. [ Abimelech is silenty hiding his face] Zedekiah [Paces up and down, as the struggle rages within him. A t length he stefs up to the table, and speaks in solemn tones] I will do what ye demand, breaking my pride like a potter's vessel, bowing my neck beneath the yoke. \All move to speak , hut he imposes silence, and continues] I will take the crown from my head, and offer it up with my hands, as is enjoined. But holy is the crown of Israel, and none shall wear it whose neck hath borne a yoke. When I have put off from me the wood of shame, I shall put away likewise sceptre and ring, consigning both to my son. Young is he, but ye will counsel him. Swear that ye will be true to him, so VOICES IN THE NIGHT 197 that the people may look up to him. Swear that ye will invest him with crown and with ring. Pashur {Greatly moved] I swear it, O King. Imre, Hananiah, Nahum We swear it. Abimelech As a king hast thou acted. Praised be thy name. Nahum Eternal honor to King Zedekiah. Zedekiah Thus shall the walls stand fast, thus shall the holy city be saved, though I sink into the dust. Better I should perish than Zion. Jerusalem endureth for ever. All [Fervently] Jerusalem endureth for even Zedekiah [To Baruch] Thou hearest, toy? Go, then, to the king of Ashur, and say unto him : "Zedekiah, who hath been ruler, and hath taken up arms against thee, boweth himself before thee, that thou mayest show 198 JEREMIAH him thy mercy.'* Hasten, that soon I may stand before the door of my house, saying to my people the precious word, "Peace'\ Baruch [Disquieted, speaks in subdued tones] I hear. Lord King. But there is yet one other thing I have to tell thee, one more demand from the king of Ashur. Abimelech [Angrily] Yet more? Does not this shame suffice him? Baruch A trifle he termed it. It looms large in my mind. Zedekiah What does his pride still crave? Baruch He spake unto me and said: "I will take the yoke from the king's neck and restore the crown to his head. He shall walk at my left hand, that men may know I honor him as my royal brother. But there is still one within your walls, of whom folk say that he is mightier than any. I would see this mighty one. They say that there is a god within your walls, whose countenance ye hide behind the curtains of a tabernacle, for that no one can bear to look upon him. To me, fear is unknown, and I wish to enter his presence, that I may behold him. I will not lay hands on his altar, nor VOICES IN THE NIGHT 199 touch his bread, neither will I covet his treasures. One thing only do I ask, that I may enter his tabernacle, for I would fain set eyes on him who hath proved mightier than I." Thus spake Nebuchadnezzar. Pashur Never! Never! Hananiah The fire of the Lord consume him for the sacri- legious thought Pashur Better that the temple should crumble to dust, than that the tabernacle should be desecrated. Imre [In consternation] He would look upon the holy of holies! Terrible is the request. Pashur Unbotmded is the insolence of the heathen ruler! Dismiss his messenger. Lord King. Send back the envoy. Hananiah Send back the envoy. Never must such a thing be. Nahum Be not too hasty, O King. In our handy lies the welfare of the nation. 200 JEREMIAH Abimelech A thousand deaths were better thaii this shame. Pashur I will face death with you, will perish in the midst of your warriors. Hananiah [Savagely] Dismiss the envoy. Rather death than this sacrilege. Imre Ye talk lightly of dying. Bethink ye that your pride means seventy thousand deaths. Pashur Would you profane God's holy of holies? Imre Life is part of God's holiness. God himself is life. Hananiah It would be an everlasting disgrace could the heathen on the face of Jehovah.'' Nahum Let our foes exult j let our pride be humbled. So be it, if the city outlast our pride and our lives. King Zedekiah, save Jerusalem! VOICES IN THE NIGHT 201 Hananiah Nay, dismiss the envoy. Zedekiah I am naught but the hand holding the scales. I stand aloof from your decision. Make up your minds. Count your votes. Speed ye, that the matter may be settled for good or for ill. Imre I am the oldest among you. My word is, let us comply with Nebuchadnezzar's demands. Hananiah Let us refuse. God will help us. Let us refuse. Pashur I ^11 not chaflFer with God's majesty. Never will I consent to such impiety. Nahum Let God's city stand for ever. Accept the terms. Zedekiah What sayest thou, Abimelech? 202 JEREMIAH Abimelech Not for me to advise thee, King Zedekiah. Not for me, who am but thy servant and thy sword« By yes and by no, in life and in death, do I stand by thy decision. Zedekiah Two votes against two, and in my own mind there are voices twain! Conflict without; conflict within. I hold aloof, leaving it to you to direct my will. You cast it back to me like seadrif t, and, trembling, I am still constrained to decide. Have I, indeed, to throw these dreadful dice? Pashur God will give thee light. Zedeuah Ah, would he but speak to me. Happy our fore- fathers to whom he appeared in a cloud. I stretch forth my hands towards him, but still for me the voice of heaven is dumb. I grope in the darkness, finding I know not what. Pray for me that I may be righdy guided. Nahum Thou hast our love, O Eng. Zedekiah Time presses. Ere the night is spent I must say yes or no; where perchance no is yes, and yes is no. God give me light. [He rises to his feet and all rise with VOICES IN THE NIGHT 203 him] Leave me to myself. The cleavage among you increases my own indecision. I shall act as my heart dictates, and it may well be that ere ye reach home I shall have made my choice, for my soul travaileth. Pray, friends, pray, that my choice may be the best for Israel. Pray for me, pray for Jerusalem. Pashur God give thee light. I shall not close my eyes in sleep until thou hast chosen. I will hold vigil before the altar. Hananiah Remember God. Nahum Remember the dty. Imre Remember the children, remember the women. Abimelech I abide by thy choice in life or in death. [All defarty leaving Baruch and the hsng\ Baruch [Quiedy] Shall I, too, take my leave, King 2^dekiah? Zedekiah [Collecting his thoughts] What sayest thou? Nay, thou must remain. 204 JEREMIAH [Baruch stands by the doorway while Zedekiah walks restlessly to and fro for a time. Then^ famsing by the window ^ the king stares over the town, subse^ quently resuming his restless facing. At length he turns and speaks to Baruch] Zedekiah Nebuchadnezzar demands an answer to-day? Baruch Yea, Lord} for to-morrow the moon is full. Zedekiah [Paces the floor again. Then abruptly^ Thou sawest him face to face. Did he ask thee anything concerning me? Baruch His chief counselor and his scribe were present The former asked me about you, but Nebuchadnezzar bade him be silent Zedekiah Full of pride is he, and his wrath is like a storm over our heads. But I fear him not. Himself, he asked nothing concerning me? Baruch Nothing, Lord King. VOICES IN THE NIGHT 205 Zedekiah To him we are naught. To him our walls are but a handful of dust Yet we can meet defiance with defi- ance. For eleven months he has been breaking his teeth against the ramparts of the dty, and he would dismiss us with a smile. I am not worth a word, and he rates our town at a breath. Nevertheless my yoke is not yet ready; the walls of Jerusalem still stand. We have taught him to wait, but he has not yet learned his lesson. Shall I be the slave of his caprices? He would tarry but a day? Let him tarry for weeks and months. [Drawing himself up] Take this message to Nebuchadnezzar. Say imto him . . . Baruch [In alarm] Decide not in anger, King Zedekiah. Zedekiah [Rigid voith astonishment] How darest thou inter- nipt me? ' Baruch [Kneels] I implore thee, save Jerusalem. Stretch forth thine hand in peace, lest the walls crumble and the temple be shattered. Lord King, I adjure thee, open the gates, open thy heart. Zedekiah [Wrath fully] "Open the gates, open thy heart''. I have heard those words before. They have been put 2o6 JEREMIAH into thy mouth. One stands behind thee speaking against Baruch Nay, Lord King. My supplication arises from the depths of my heart. Something will I tell thee, which hitherto I have withheld. It was not at Nebuchad- nezzar's summons that I went to him, but of my own free will, hofnng that I might soften his heart. I saw that either side waited for the other to propose peace. Day after day, for eleven long months, did I importune him till he sent me with this message. Thou, a boy, a child? While we were holding coun- sel, thou soughtest out the king of kings to seek peace and ensure it? Baruch This did I, O King, in the urgency of my heart's wishes. Zedekiah [Regards him fixedly for a time. Then, speaking sharply] Not thine own deed, this, nor thy thought Baruch I went at no man's orders. Zedekiah Thou speakest falsely. No boy could conceive such a deed for himself. VOICES IN THE NIGHT 207 Baruch I swear to thee that I did it unadvised. He knew naught of it, neither commanded it nor approved. Zedekiah He? Who is he of whose orders thou speakest? Baruch [Evasively] My teacher, my master. Zedekiah Who is thy master, who? I would know who issues conunands to the boys of this city. Baruch God^s servant and prophet is my master. Men call him Jeremiah. Zedekiah [Furiously] Jeremiah, always Jeremiah. Ever the shadow that follows my deeds, ever in revolt against me. I have cast him into a dungeon, but still, as in the beginning, rises his clamor for peace. Why this per- secution? Why? Baruch Thou art mistaken. Jeremiah hath more love for thee than for any other in this town. I I t I I 208 JEREMIAH Zedexjah I need not his love. I spew forth his love, and I despise his anger. Who is he, that he should dare to love me? Shall one venture to stand up in the streets and give tongue, declaring that he loveth me, or loveth me not? Why should Jeremiah push in twixt me and my resolve? Would he show himself the greater of us twain? I am the king, I alone! tet-him cry. Peace,- peace ! Not in his hand lieth the fate of Jeru- salem. I am king in Zion, and never shall he boast that he frightened me with his dreams. Better the dty should perish, than be saved by the hand of Jere- miah. Go thou to Nebuchadnezzar and say unto him: Never will Zedekiah bear a yoke. Never shall the king of Ashur raise the curtain before the holy of holies. Nebuchadnezzar may come with all his menj he will find Zedekiah ready to meet him. [Baruch raising both hands imploringly, is about to sfeak. Zedekiah continues^ Not a word. If thou failest to carry my message, I will have Jeremiah's head. [Again Baruch endeavors to sfeak] A single word, and Jeremiah's life is forfeit. Away, I command thee, away! [Baruch stands for a moment, and then, veiling his face, f asses out. Zedekiah draws himself up threat-- eningly when Baruch hesitates. As soon as the young man has gone, the king lowers his outstretched arm, and his countenance is once more shadowed with anxiety. Then he draws a deep breath and speaks] VOICES IN THE NIGHT 209 Zedekiah It is finished. No longer the torture of indecision. [He paces to and fro once more. Then he stamps twice. JoAB enter s\ JOAB The king calls? Zedekiah Wine, bring me wine. I need sleep, deep and dreamless sleep. [JoAB brings a pitcher and fills a silver goblet. Zedekiah empties it at a draught. Then he listens, and his face is again clouded^ Who is walking outside there? I hear footsteps. Does the spy still tarry? JOAB He has gone forth, Lord. You hear the sentry, my brother Nehemiah. Zedekiah Tell him to tread softly when he is on guard outside my bedchamber at night. I need sleep just as much as other men. Joab I will see to it, Lord. [He draws aside the curtains of the bed and veils the lamp. Now the only light in the room comes from the pale moonbeams^ Shall I read from the scriptures. Lord King, as heretofore? 210 JEREMIAH Zedekiah Nay, not even the scriptures can help me. I would fain sleep, even as other men sleep. My lids ache and my heart aches likewise. [JoAB helps htm to remove his outer garment. Zedekiah flings himself on the couch] JOAB God guard thy slumbers, O King. [JoAB calls Nehemiah. Silently the two stand at the head of the hedy motionless figures holding spears. In the moonlight their shadows rise in giant silhouettes on the wall. The only sound is the gentle flashing of a fountain in the court-yard] Zedekiah [Springing up with a wild cry] Why do ye whisper together? Did I not command ye to silence? JOAB [Alarmed] We said nothing. Lord King. Zedekiah Some one is talking. Who is it that devours my slumber? All should sleep, so that I too may sleep. Is there anyone awake in the neighboring rooms? JOAB No one, Lord Kng. Nor anywhere throughout the palace. VOICES IN THE NIGHT an Zedekiah So I alone hold vigil. Why should all the burden be laid upon me? All the walls of the dty, all the towers of care? Get me wine. [ JoAB fills the goblet once more. Zedekiah drains it and flings it away. With a groan he lies down again. All is still save for the murmur of the fountain. Zede- kiah, who has been lying motionless on the bedy now very quietly sits up in the gloom. Crouching like a wild beast about to springy he listens intently. Then he suddenly screams^ Zedekiah Some one is speaking. I hear a voice which drones unendingly. I have given orders that none shall speak in my house. The voice is chanting. But I have for- bidden that any should sing under my roof. Do ye not hear it? JOAB I hear nothing. Lord. Nehemiah No sound has reached me. Zedekiah [Glares at the two lads. Crouching he listens for a moment y and breaks forth again] 1 hear it, I tell you; an interminable monotone. Listen, Joab, here where I am listening. It is somewhere beneath us, burrowing like a mole in the darkness of my slumber, devouring my sleep. Canst not hear, lad? / f i i J 212 JEREMIAH JOAB [Listens intently for a motnenty and then shudders] I hear a voice rising from the depths. Like the voice of one singing. The spirits of the deep are awake beneath the house. The voice laments and moans like a caged beast. Nehemiah Perchance it is but the wind moaning through a cranny. Zedekiah I hear words} I feel them without xmderstanding them. Who dares to sing by night in my house? Is it so well with my slaves that they must sing while I toss sleepless? Away, Joab, and silence the disturber. [JoAB hastens out. Zedekiah crouches, listening. He seems at first to hear something. Then he raises his heady and subsequently lowers it to listen once more. Suddenly three dull blows are heard. The king listens eagerly. He draws a breath of relief] God be praised, the voice is stilled. [Joab reenters with troubled mien] Who was talking? Joab [Trembling] I know not. Lord, I did not find him. As I neared the marketplace, the noise of singing came to me louder, rising as it were from the depths of the earth. I followed the direction of the sound. There was no one singing in the marketplace. The utterance had a hollow ring, as if it came from a well or from a V VOICES IN THE NIGHT 2 1 3 pit. Now I could hear the words, and they were ter- rible. Thrice did I strike the ground with the haft of my spear. Then was the Gehenna silent.. Zedekiah What were the words? JOAB [Shuddering] I dare not repeat them. Zedekiah Tell me the words, I command thee. JOAB It was blasphemy that rose from the pit. Zedekiah Repeat the words, if you fear my anger. JOAB [Complies. His voice rises in a psalm] I have forsaken mine house, I have cast off mine heritage 5 I have given the dearly beloved of my soul Into the hand of her enemies. My tears run down like a river day and night. For grievous is the affliction Of the daughter of my people. 214 JEREMIAH Zedekiah [Whh a loud cry] Jeremiah! Always Jeremiah. JOAB [Continuing to chant as if inspired] He hath given up into the hand of the enemy The walls of her palaces; They have made a noise in the house of the Lord, As in the day of a solemn feast He hath . . . Zedekiah Be still, be still. I will hear no more. Always Jere- miah, and again Jeremiah. Wherever I go he stands at the cross roads; his challenge rings behind all my doings; he forces his way into my dreams, and feeds my indecision. How can I outrun this terrible shadow? He cries to me even from the pit. Who will free me from him? JOAB Lord, if he be thine enemy, say the word . . . [He makes a movement with his spear] Zedekiah [Startled out of his anger, looks at the lad wonder^ ingly. Then, with awakening pride] Thou wouldst . . . Nay, I fear him not. I fear no man. Nor am I certain if he be my enemy. I was foolish, perhaps, to flee from him. Who can tell? [He paces the room] Joab! VOICES IN THE NIGHT 215 JOAB My Lord? Zedekiah Go forth, taking with thee thy brother Nehemiah. Open the pit and bring hither the man ye will find there. None must know that he enters and leaves the palace. [JoAB and Nehemiah fass out. The king solilo^ quizes in low tones] At every cross road, behind my back, always too late and always compelling me to listen. Why did I appeal only to God, who vouchsafes me no answer? Why did I not hearken to those who say that he declares his will through their mouths? But wherefore do they speak with conflicting voices? How could I discern the false from the true? Dread is this God who will not break silence, and whose messengers cannot be cer- tainly known. [Jeremiah enters accompanied by the two lads. At a sign from Zedekiah, Joab unveils the lamp. Then he and Nehemiah withdraw. Jeremiah is pale and emaciated. His dark eyes flash from a white and bony facey looking almost as if set in a skull. He regards the king with a questioning calm. After a momentary embarrassment the king speaks] Zedekiah I sent for thee, Jeremiah, to ask why thou dost dis- turb my rest. Why singest thou in the night when others sleep? 2i6 . JEREMIAH Jeremiah He may not sleep who watches over the people. The Lord hath appointed me to watch and to give warning. Zedekiah Jeremiah, I have summoned thee to hold counsel with me. No man knoweth that to this end I have drawn thee from the pit where thou hast been pris- • oned. Wilt thou advise me truly? Jeremiah God helping me, I will. Zedekiah Know, then, what none other knows save my inner- most counselors. An envoy has come from Nebuchad- nezzar, seeking to end the war between our nations. Jeremiah [Exuhandy] God be praised! Open the gates, open thy heart to humbleness. Zedekiah Rejoice not too soon. Hard are the terms and measureless is the arrogancy of the king of Ashur. Jeremiah Arrogant hast thou been towards him, therefore must VOICES IN THE NIGHT 2 1 7 thou accept arrogancy in return. Put compulsion on thy heart, so thou save Jerusalem from destruction. Zedekiah He asks my honor. Jeremiah Sacrifice thine honor for the dty. Zedekiah Is not honor my office} is not pride my crown? Jeremiah ♦ If they be truly thine, cast them from thee. Peace is better than honor; suffering is better than death. Zedekiah He would bow my nedc beneath a yoke. Jeremiah Blessed is he who suffers for all; who suffers that all may live. Bow thy nedc, and save the dty. Zedekiah I should bring shame on all the kings whose throne is my heritage; I should disgrace the mantle of my forefathers. iiS JEREMIAH Jeremiah Think no longer of those who have been. They are dead, and worms have eaten them. Think of the dty and of those who now live therein. Zedekiah Not me alone will Nebuchadnezzar abase, but God also. Jeremiah God smiles at those who would abase him. Open the gates, open thy heart to humbleness. Zedekiah Nebuchadnezzar would enter the holy of holies which none may approach. Jeremiah God will avert it, should it be his will} thou canst not avert it. Open the gates, open thy heart to humbleness. Zedekiah [Angrily] Thy wisdom is stubbornness} thy coimsel, insolence. With deaf ears dost thou hearken, and thine answer is hard as flint. Jeremiah Am I to laud thy blindness, to approve whatever thou sayest? Feigning to ask counsel, thou wouldst have VOICES IN THE NIGHT 219 naught but flattery. May my tongue consume away in my mouth, my bones fall apart, ere I praise thy folly and cease from crying against thy blindness. Zedekiah Why railest thou thus, when thou hast not yet heard my purpose? Jeremiah I know thy purpose. With words dost thou fawn on me, whilst thy will is set up against me. Wouldst mock me, and play with God's word? Thou hast not summoned me to help thee decide. Long ere this has the message been signed and sealed within thy soul. Thou mayst deceive thyseli. King of Israel, but me thou canst not deceive. Zedekiah Jeremiah ! Jeremiah Yea, verily, I, Jeremiah, say unto thee, the king: Thou dealest falsely with me, and thy words are a blind. No longer is thy will free, nor dost thou truly desire me to influence thy decision. Zedekiah [Unsteadily] How canst thou know this? Jeremiah Thy lips betray thee. Thou quailest before my wrath like a guilty man. Fain wouldst thou tempt me 220 JEREMIAH to approve thy dedson, to lift the guilt from thy shoulders. Woe unto him who tempts men, for he tempts the god that is in men. [HesiUUes, greaily moved. Then he speaks in low tones\ Much, indeed, is it given thee to know, Jeremiah. Too true are thy words. My will is no longer free. I have delivered my message to the envoy. Jeremiah Recall it! Save the city. He is on his way to Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah Send for him! Bring him back! Zedekiah Too late. The advice comes too late. Jeremiah Hasten after him. Pursue him with runners and riders. Zedekiah It is too late. By now my message must have reached the king of Ashur. VOICES IN THE NIGHT 22 1 Jeremiah [Hides his face, lamenting] Woe, woe unto Jerusa- lem, woe unto Jerusalem! Zedekiah [Drawing near him in alarm] What ails thee Jeremiah? [Jeremiah does not heed the king. Sobs shake his frame. Soon, however, he draws himself up once more. Now his gaze is fixed on the distance. He speaks as in a dream, raising his hands, like one inspired] Jeremiah How art thou fallen from heaven, Jerusalem, sun of the morning! Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. Alas, thou art fallen from glory. Art sunken in dariuiess and night. Zedekiah [Calls to him loudly, hoping to awaken him from the trance] Jeremiah! Jeremiah What star was brighter than thine. Thou city of Jacob, Thou fortress of David, 222 JEREMIAH Thou tabernacle of Solomon, God's treasure and his holy house? Who could herald thy ways, who could signal thy praise? All happy the psalteries, the cymbals grew light. With sounding thy triumphs from morning till night. Zedekiah Thou ravest, Jeremiah; awake, awake! Jeremiah [ Unheeding] How still art thou now, my beloved. Thy brightness, say, where hath it gone? The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride No longer are heard among thy houses. The market hath become desolate. Quenched are the voice of joy. The voice of gladness, The sound of flute playing, And the song of the maidens. A slayer hath fallen upon thee. An avenger from the north. Waste places are thy streets. Nettles grow in thy pleasant places. Thorns and brambles in the palace of thy kings. Alas, thy walls are laid low, All thy towers are broken down; Shamefully overthrown Is the everlasting heart of thy sanctuary. VOIGES IN THE NIGHT 223 Zedekiah Accursed one, thou liest! High and hale stand the walls of Jerusalem. Jeremiah [With growing frenzy^ Every head hath been shorn. Every beard hath been dipt. The mothers, wearing sackcloth, Tear the flesh from their cheeks, Wailing: *Where are my sons, where are my daughters?" Woe is me! The dead bodies of the sons Lie like dung in the streets Where they have perished by the sword j The daughters have been strangled with their own hair. And the women with child have been ripped up. The jackals of the wilderness are gorged, The ravens weary with feasting. Zedekiah Be silent, be silent! Thou liest j Jeremiah What availeth it to seek safety in thorny thickets, To flee from death into the burning fissures of the rock? They himt thee with horses, with companies of spearmen. Track thee down, and with sticks beat the coverts for their game, 224 JEREMIAH Drive thee forth from the crannies with firebrands and smoke. Pursue thee, and seize thee, and slay. They ravish the women, they slaughter the elders. Just men are made slaves of their lowliest bondsmen, Made servants of servants the daughters of kings. Zedekjah Hold thy peace, liar, lest my wrath smite thee! Jeremiah [Lamenting] Jerusalem, vii^gin and daughter of Judah, The heathen make mock of thy pitiful plight Woe is me that I must look on thine affliction. All thine enemies have opened their mouths ag^nst thee, Laughing, and hissing, and gnashing their teeth. Saying: *^Ve have swallowed her up! "Is this the city that men call "The perfection of beauty, "The joy of the whole earth? ^'Verily we have laid her low. "Certainly this is the day we looked for, ^'We have f oimd it, *^e have seen it." Zedekiah [Beside himself with rage, clenching his fists] Be silent, liar, I will listen no longer. VOICES IN THE NIGHT 225 Jeremiah Jerusalem, holy city of the Lord, Cradle of the nations, treasure of the world! Who will extol thee, who now will search thee out? A legend of the ages hast thou become, A fable and a proverb among the peoples. Ah, I see . . . Zedekiah Raving madman, naught more shalt thou see. Jeremiah I see thy suffering, I witness thy death, X SCC • • • Zedekiah [Grappling with him, bursts out in a fury] Naught more shalt thou see ! I will have thee blinded. Jeremiah [Stares around, as if suddenly and dreadfully awak- ened. Then laughing loudly, he chants with renewed frenzy] Me? Blind me? Nay, ruthless one. Not such is the purpose of God. Know well that one shall be blinded Ere these days draw to a close. Tis one with eyes that see not. With ears that will not hear. Yet hearken now. King Zedekiah ! [Zedekiah releases Jeremiah, and regards him 226 JEREMIAH mth amazement and terror. Jeremiah rtuses his hands in denunciation, and continues] Thee Shall they seize. The servants of Ashur, Seize thee in Gcxi's temple which thou hast destroyed. They tear thee away from the horns of the altar, To which thy hands cleave in the vain hope of help. Naught availeth thy sword, for they break it in sunder. Then bind thine arms straitly with fetters of brass. Haling thee forth and the stairway adown} Like a beast for the sacrifice scourging thee on j To him will they bring thee whose hand thou ! rejectedst} i To him will they bring thee whose yoke thou hast ; broken, I To him who thy fiery doom will have spoken. [Zedekiah has retreated several stefs, and makes • gestures as if to avert the threatened fate] To thy knees as they force thee with curses and blows, In the air-blast the furnace roars fiercely and glows. Now the iron is heated, gleaming red, flashing white. In thine eyeballs they plunge it, the scorching steelt Thy flesh smokes and hisses, thy senses reel. God's daylight has vanished in infinite night. [Zedekiah screams , and claps his hands to his eyes as if blinded] But ere thy sight, in a fiery mist Of blood and tears, is forever gone, VOICES IN THE NIGHT 227 Thy sons, by the sharp sword fiercely kissed, Shall be slain in thy presence, one by one. As the headsman's blade flashes through flesh and through bone. Bootless thy struggles } the slaves hold thee fast! The first falls, the second, the third and last! They are sped, and thy weeping and wailing are vain. Their blood drenches the ground, while thou, in thy pain. Ere the burning steel seareth the ^ght from thine eyes, Seest how Israel's race and kingship dies. Zedekiah [Groping his way across the room like a blind man^ staggers to the couch. Novo he puts up his hands beseechingly^ Mercy! Have mercy! Jeremiah By thy cries all in vain will the darkness be riven. As thou liftest thy hands to the imseen heaven, God's mercy imploring! God no mercy will show To the king whose false pride Zion's temple laid low. He casteth thee down among worms which are blind. Which crawl on their bellies, each after his kind. With despised and rejected, the sick, the forsworn, Shalt thou walk, Zedekiah, debased and forlorn, Consorting with lepers, with halt and with lame, Among outcasts the poorest. Thus thy pride God shall tame. With beggars shalt harbor; a beggar thyself. 228 JEREMIAH Wearing sadcdoth and ashes, shalt pass through the land. Those who know thee — once splendent in power and in pelf, King erstwhile in Zion — uplifting the hand. Shall curse thee, Zedekiah. Zedekiah [Utterly crushed by the adjuration^ tuts collapsed^ groaning^ on to the couch. Now he slowly rises, and contemplates Jeremiah blankly^ What a power is entrusted to thee, Jeremiah. Thou hast broken the strength of my limbs. The very marrow is frozen in my bones. Terrible are thy words, Jeremiah. Jeremiah [He has awakened from his trance, and the fre in his eyes is quenched] Poor are my words, Zedekiah. Weakness is all my strength. I know, but cannot act! Zedekiah Why didst thou not come to me sooner? Jeremiah I was ever at hand, but thou couldst not find me. Zedekiah Thou hast filled my heart with dread, yet I bear thee no grudge. There must be no quarrel betwixt us twain VOICES IN THE NIGHT 229 who stand in the shadow of death. Get thee back whence thou hast come. Thou shalt not lack food, for I will share my last crust with thee. Let none know of our converse, save God. [Jeremiah turns to go\ Stay, Jeremiah. Must the fate be, which thou hast foretold? Jerusalem, my Jerusalem. Canst thou not avert it? Jeremiah [Gloomily^ Naught can I do to avert it. I can only prophesy. Woe upon the impotent. Zedekiah [After a pause] Jeremiah, I did not want war. I was forced to declare war, but I loved peace. And I love thee because of thy love for peace. Not with a light heart did I take up arms, but before I lived there was war under God's heaven, and there will be war after I am dead. I have suflFered greatly, as thou canst testify when the time comes. Be thou near me when thy words are fulfilled. Jeremiah I will be near thee, Zedekiah, my brother. [Slowly he averts his face from the king and moves towards the doorway^ Zedekiah Jeremiah! [Jeremiah turns] Thou hast cursed me, Jeremiah. Bless me now, ere we part. / 230 JEREMIAH Jeremiah [After a moments hesiuuion, strides back and holds his hands over the lang\ The Lord bless thee, and keep thee in all thy ways. May the light of his countenance shine upon thee, and may he give thee peace. Zedekjah [As in a dream] May he give us peace. THE SUPREME AFFLICTION SCENE SEVEN I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that pluck off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. Isaiah h, 6. SCENE SEVEN The follomng morning; the great square before the temfle. A large crowds consisting chiefly of women and children^ is swarming up the steps leading to the palace^ shouting and screaming. The leaders of the mob have reached the palace door, and are hammering on it with their fists. The Doorkeeper [Appearing through a wicket which he closes behind him] Are you still there? I have told you already that no more bread will be given out to-day. A Woman But I am hungry. A Second Woman You gave me one tiny loaf for my three children, a loaf no larger than my fist. Look at my little girl here; see how skinny her fingers are. [She lifts the child to show him] A Third Woman Look at mine too. [She also shows her child] 235 236 JEREMIAH Confused and Angry Voices I am hungry. — Give me bread. — ^We are himgry. — Bread. — ^Bread. Another Voice Let us have the keys. Voices Yes. — Give us the keys. — Open the storehouses. The Doorkeeper [Pushing back the foremost among the mob] Away with you! The king's orders are that everyone shall have a loaf at daybreak. Then the storehouses are to be closed. A Voice I got no loaf. Other Voices Nor I, nor I. A Woman You could hardly see minej and I have a child at the breast. Justice! A Second Mine was full of sand and gravel. A Third They are not the same loaves we used to get. We are being cheated. Justice! THE SUPREME AFFLICTION 237 The Doorkeeper Nahum treats you all alike. He is perfectly fair. A Voice Where is he? Other Voices Where is he? We want to see him. — ^Let him show himself. — ^We will talk to him. — ^He is a thief. — Where is he? Another Voice [Shouting stridently^ He sits at home and fattens up his own household. They bake cake for themselves. A Second Voice Yes, the rich have hoarded all they need. Voices While we go hungry. — ^Bread for the poor. — ^Bread, bread. The Strident Voice The king has golden dishes filled ^th dainties. In the palace they would rather throw their leavings to the dogs than feed our children. A Voice I don't believe that. 238 JEREMIAH « Other Voices Yes, — ^Yes. — ^I have seen them do it — ^My aster says they do, — Where is Nahum? — Give us bread. [Gradually the voices fuse itUo a single shout for bread. The mob thronging the steps grows more threatemng. Some of those in the front ranks are about to seize the doorkeeper^ while others continue to beat on the closed door. The doorkeeper blows a trumpet] Abimelech [Hastening from the palace^ attended by a number of soldiers] Away with yoiu Push them back. Down the steps. Clear the entrance to the palace. [The soldiers use the hafts of their spears freely, and the mob yields ground, panicstricken] Voices He struck me. — ^They are killing us. — ^Where is my child?— Help.— Help! [ The crowd forms again at the foot of the steps, and faces Abimelech angrily] Abimelech Are you all mad? The enemy is attaching us. Since dawn I have been on the ramparts to marshal the defence, and you meanwhile are raising a tumult at our backs. What would ye, rabble? THE SUPREME AFFLICTION 239 Voices Bread. — ^We are hungry. — ^Bread. — Our children have nothing to eat. Abimelech Everyone has had his loaf. Voices Not I. — ^They left me out. — ^Not enough. Abimelech The town is besieged. You must make the most of what you have. We are at war^ Voices There is not enough bread. — We are hungry. Abimelech Well, be hungry! We are shedding our blood for you. The dty must be our first care. [Trying to hearten them uf he exclaims] Jerusalem for ever! A Voice [Half-heartedly] Jerusalem for ever! The Strident Voice Who or what is Jerusalem? Has Jerusalem a stomach? Has Jerusalem blood? The stones and the walls arp not Jerusalem. We are Jerusalem. 240 JEREMIAH Voices Yes, we are Jerusalem. — Give us life. — Give us food. — ^Feed our children. — What is Jerusalem to me? I want bread. Abimelech [Stamping fiercely] Be silent, all. Bade to your homes. Why do you loiter in the marketplace? Do you not know that we are at war? A Woman Why are we at war? Voices Yes, why? — ^Why are we at war? — Let us make peace. — Peace. — ^Peace. — ^Bread. The Strident Voice Was it not well vnth us under Nebuchadnezzar? Was not his yoke light? Were not our days pleasant? Voices Yea, yea* — ^Peace with Nebuchadnezzar. — ^End the war. — ^Down with the war. — ^A curse on him who began the war. A Woman It WAS Zcdeldah^ d